Stepping from the Shadows
by Nvrmore
Summary: Or it could have gone something like this... Jasper and Alice.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - Jasper

The first thing Jasper was aware of when he awoke was the thirst. It was a fire burning in his throat, driving out almost every other coherent thought. It wasn't the same as the fire from which he'd just come. That had been all-consuming, setting his entire body aflame. Every movement, every twitch, every yell or whimper that had been pulled from him only increased the heat of the flames, and his last thought before the fire made thinking impossible was that the too-beautiful woman on the road had not been a woman at all, but a demon, who had dragged him bodily into hell for eternal torment.

This new fire was different. Instead of paralyzing him, it pushed him into action. Instinct took hold and he was instantly standing, searching for the source of the smell he realized was feeding the burning thirst. He located the source immediately and pounced, his hands and arms both restraining and better positioning his prey so that his teeth could sink into the young girl's throat. As the warm coppery liquid filled his mouth and stomach, Jasper was aware of another presence in the room. He spun, his prey still firmly within his grasp, and growled at the intruder, never lifting his lips from his meal. He only briefly wondered at this reaction, knowing somewhere in the back of his mind that this whole situation wasn't right. His eyes locked with those of the pale Mexican woman – the demon who had dragged him to hell. He crouched defensively, instinctively, pulling the human female in his arms closer to his body, some part of his mind registering a crack as one of her bones gave way in his too-tight grip. He continued to growl and feed, but registering that the brunette was standing as still as a statue, non-threateningly. The only thing about her that indicated life was the sparkle of her eager dark-red eyes and her slow even breathing. Even her smile, more predatory than friendly, was frozen in place as she watched what her young creation was capable of.

Some part of his too-aware mind felt fear that he knew wasn't his own, and noted that the fear died with the girl. But this was not something to which he could give attention at the moment. Instead, when he finished feeding, or more accurately, when the girl had nothing left to offer to soothe the burning, Jasper turned his full attention to the statue in the corner. Again, he was vaguely aware that he could feel the excitement of anticipation coming from a source outside of himself. But there was so much for his mind to take in at the moment, not to mention the potential threat that had him still crouching defensively, that he didn't consider what this could mean.

Finally the statue moved. Her arms, which had been crossed, dropped to her side, and she took a cautious step forward. "You did well," she said, her Spanish accent mixing with the wind-chime quality of her voice in an exotic way that sounded richer than he remembered. "But she is your only free one." A hard edge entered the woman's voice – Maria, Jasper remembered her name - "The next one you must earn." She paused for a moment, letting the information sink in, then turned her back on the newborn and headed for the door. "Come," she commanded.

Thus Jasper was introduced to his new life. In the first twenty four hours of his new existence, he killed one newborn, earning him a second meal. In the first week, he killed three more newborns, the last one not earning him a meal because Maria was tired of losing neophytes and wanted Jasper to learn control. In the first month, he killed only one other. Maria discovered he had a very soothing presence, and began training him specifically, to use his talent at will to gain control of the others. This earned him great favor with her, as the number of newborn deaths dropped considerably because none of the highly volatile newborns could remain so with Jasper calming them out of their bloodlusts. He was put in charge of his peers and soon pulled together a unit of fighters that was more trained, more controlled, and more deadly than anything the vampires of the south had yet experienced.

They lost a few in their first battles, but Maria was pleased, regardless, and that was all that mattered to Jasper. Their numbers were replenished, the fighting continued and intensified until, after a mere eighteen months, Jasper was the only one left of his original brothers. The others were continually replaced, trained, and, if they survived their first year, they were usually killed off, no longer useful to Maria. A few lingered from time to time, having proven themselves above the others, like Jasper had, though few of these made it past their second year. They either died in battle or went crazy – burnout it would be called today or, for some, post traumatic stress syndrome. However severe the case, Jasper would end up having to put them down.

After that first year, Jasper's newborn strength diminished, but, with time, other things strengthened. His ability to empathize and alter the emotions of those around him became stronger. This was both good and bad. He could no longer block the emotions of others. He felt everything, both from his fellow vampires, which could prove useful, and from the humans he had been trained to think of as cattle. He learned he could manipulate the emotions of specific individuals, rather than simply blanketing a group with the desired emotion. He also discovered that touch strengthened the connection and, toward the end of his time with Maria, he used it on occasion to put humans to sleep while he fed.

Though he didn't consciously feel guilty about feeding on humans, he became soul-weary and wondered if there was nothing more to his existence than death and blood, greed and power, and, above all, selfishness. At first, he had worshipped Maria, demon though she was. Even evil gods had worshippers and Jasper could claim no purity of heart; no 'good' god would take him. She was his creator, sustainer, and the one who gave him purpose. But after a time, the shine wore off and he saw she was simply calculating, self-centered, and would just as easily dispose of him when he was no longer useful as she ordered him to dispose of the one-year-olds. And that was before the fear and suspicion settled on her. Unable to comprehend Jasper's deteriorating emotional state, she became suspicious of his motives and wondered when he would turn on her, thinking his dissatisfaction came from a desire for more power – her power.

After nearly ninety years of war, uncertainty, and killing at someone else's bidding, it took very little to convince Jasper to leave Maria and never look back. Five years earlier, Peter, one of the few vampires Jasper had ever considered a friend – one of the few vampires Jasper had know long enough to develop any kind of relationship with – fled to save his mate's life. Jasper assumed the two would die quickly. No covens took in strays and, without the safety of numbers, they would not find suitable hunting ground or safety. But Peter returned, alive and well, and with the report that, in five years, he and Charlotte had not once had to fight other vampires for food or territory. The vampires in the north were much more 'civilized' and coexisted peacefully, mostly as nomads, but freely sharing hunting grounds. Peter had known of Jasper's growing discomfort and restlessness with the life he led, so he returned to offer Jasper a way out, and Jasper took it, leaving Maria that very day.

_The hunt was an easy one: a family camping in the Pocono Mountains. They were far enough away from the main campsite that no one would hear their cries of distress – not that they would get the chance to cry out. It was perfect. A father, a mother, and their nearly grown teenage son. One human for each vampire._

_Once the scent was caught, it took less then a second for the trio to be running, full speed, toward their targets. With the hunt on, Jasper no longer had to think. He gave himself up to his base instincts, the old familiar thirst burning through him and making his mouth water. _

_Peter, Charlotte and Jasper had recently established a routine. They split up, like the tongs of a fork, so the three would hit their intended victims at almost the same instant. It was a kindness to Jasper, not drawing out the process. The maneuver went off flawlessly. Jasper took the boy, Charlotte took the mother, and Peter took the father. _

_But despite the bloodlust, as strong as it was, Jasper was not immune to the other sensations that started to take hold. The most potent of those other sensations was fear. While he knew the fear was not his own, it triggered his defensive reflexes and Jasper scanned his environment. With his perfect vampiric vision, he could clearly see everything around him, including the faces of the boy's mother and father. The father wore a mask of fury and shame. Had he the strength to fight, Jasper was sure he would have defended his family to the death. The mother had tears freely streaming down her face and, mingled with her fear, was a suffocating sorrow as her eyes locked with her dying son's. Other emotions mingled with those: regret, confusion, and love. The swirl and chaos of emotion around him filled Jasper, those places he'd left vacant in an attempt to protect himself, and he lost himself._

_It was different then giving himself over to the hunt. The one made him nothing like the human he'd once resembled. This sea of emotion that engulfed him now made him most human. With the last beat of the boy's heart, Jasper threw himself away from the corpse, from the firelight, from his friends, and yelled. He yelled at the top of his lungs into the dark night hoping, wishing, it would swallow him, and turn him into the shadow he felt himself to be, that he could be banished with the morning light and suffer no more._

_His yell died, as the emotions from the other victims also died; their lives ended. The quiet and stillness that followed was profound. Even his companions had stopped all movement, wary of their friend's unexpected outburst. Empty of the humans' emotions, he could now feel the concern, frustration, and confusion of his friends, but nothing of himself._

_Jasper was still as a statue, kneeling with his head bowed. Charlotte approached him hesitantly from behind, not wanting to startle him. "It's not helping, is it?" she asked in a quiet voice. Peter, not far behind her, was tensed and ready to protect her. _

_"No," Jasper said, his voice sounding choked with emotion. He had left Maria in Mexico without a backward glance, with the expectation that, away from the constant war, suspicion, and tension, he would recover from his despondency. He had been trained to believe humans were nothing but canteens with legs. No one ever concerned themselves with what the humans thought. The only thing that kept them from massacring whole villages was fear of the Volturi. So Jasper never considered that, once out of that emotional cesspool, he would still suffer for killing humans. "I thought it would. But…," he sighed._

_"I don't understand," Charlotte admitted. "They're nothing but water, vapor, and dust. Why does it affect you so?" _

_Jasper didn't respond. They'd had this conversation before, and he didn't feel like getting into it again. In fact, it had been Peter who had pointed out the pattern and brought it to Jasper's awareness. Feeding always deepened his depression for a time. Where once, his… gift… had, at least, been useful, now it was simply a burden, and he felt it driving a wedge between him and his closest friends. It was something they could never understand, never having experienced it for themselves._

_Peter tried to assuage Jasper's anxiety with logic. "They will die inevitably. Why does it matter if their deaths serve to sustain us, to make us stronger? They do the same with lesser animals."_

_Jasper shook his head. "Don't you get tired of it? With all the death we've seen – with all the murders we've committed…"_

_Peter shrugged. "What else are we supposed to do?" He saw Jasper's face was still twisted with weariness, guilt, and other emotions he didn't think his friend even understood. "It helps not to think of them as people."_

_"I cannot NOT think of them as people!" Jasper burst out frustratedly. "They're alive! They're sentient! They have hopes and dreams for the future! And we steal that from them… And I feel it all!"_

It was never just the fear that Jasper felt. It was everything that made them human – fear, anger, pain, hope, courage, and love. It was everything Jasper was not able to feel. He could remember it in those moments – his own bravery in war, the love he must have experienced from his family, fear of dying.

His time with Peter and Charlotte was not helping. After years of the emotions of others constantly wearing on him, even the emotions of the fragile humans was too much. He felt like a burn victim; the lightest touch ignited every nerve in exquisite torture. That was the night he decided to leave them and travel on his own. Perhaps feeding would be more bearable if he only had to contend with the emotions of a single victim rather than multiple.

Even so, after nearly a year of traveling on his own, he was no closer to relief, no closer to an end to his tedious life than he had been before. All of these thoughts whirled around him, much like the wind on this stormy late afternoon in Philadelphia, 1955.

Jasper walked on the sidewalk, along a now-flooded street, in the pouring rain. The wide street was the main drag of the factory district. Rainwater carried the litter that had collected along the curb to nearby gutters, clogging them, until a small, dirty river had begun to develop. The sky was dark gray with storm clouds and an early evening descended on this cool spring day.

The factories and warehouses were closed, the skeletal weekend shift having left for the day, leaving only darkened windows to witness Jasper's passing. The few workers who typically lingered to chat with buddies were driven to local bars by the storm. Jasper supposed he too should find shelter, if only to appear like the rest of them – the humans.

The continuously swirling wind whipped past Jasper's face and brought with it the scent of a human lingering, for reasons unknown, in this otherwise deserted area. Jasper immediately spotted the man, leaning over his car, hood open. Jasper could feel the man's frustration, probably directed at the machine, and knew he was oblivious to the vampire's presence. Jasper glanced up and down the street. There was no one in sight. No one to witness. And Jasper's throat burned. The venom began to flow in that annoyingly Pavlovian way that made him feel less than human.

As he stepped into the street, his foot sinking into the raging three-inch river, Jasper could imagine how it would play out. He would simply walk up to the stranger. The man would never know he was there until Jasper grabbed him, silencing him with a hand over his mouth. Then he would sink his teeth into the man's throat, drawing blood from where it came fastest and fullest. It would take mere seconds, certainly not long enough for anyone to notice, not in this downpour. He would leave no evidence.

Jasper came to a stop just behind the man. He was reaching his hand forward when the man let out a small curse and straightened, putting his hands on the hood of his car to close it. The man must have caught Jasper's movement out of the corner of his eye, because he startled and spun to look at the silent young man.

"Oh, geez man. You almost gave me a heart attack," the man said. A hint of nervousness touched his voice, but the man was more concerned about his car than the danger of which he was only subconsciously aware.

Jasper's hand innocently retreated, and he cocked his head to the side slightly, listening to the man's heart. It had sped considerably, but it was strong and steady. Despite the spike of fear the man had experienced, Jasper could sense the gratitude the man felt for his timely arrival. "Sorry, sir," he responded.

There was an awkward pause before the man said, "Don't suppose you know anything about cars?" his hope waning slightly when Jasper did not immediately offer to help. "My wife is probably wondering what's taking me so long."

Jasper nodded and stepped forward, leaning over the engine. It took him less then a second to examine the vehicle and spot the problem. He quickly re-connected one of the wires to the distributor cap and made sure the others were secure. He nodded again to the man. "Try her now."

Jasper watched the man climb into his vehicle and turn the key. The engine roared to life, and he gently pulled the hood of the car down to close it. As he did, the man exited his car and extended his hand toward Jasper, taking him slightly by surprise.

"Thanks kid," the man said with a smile.

"My pleasure," Jasper replied, his southern drawl seeping through his speech. He even managed a ghost of a smile.

"You need a ride somewhere?" the man asked, as he took in Jasper's soaked clothes and lack of another parked vehicle nearby. There was a surge of pity as the man took in Jasper's pale skin and bruised eyes. But when the man's light blue eyes locked with Jasper's mostly black ones, the pity slid away and the unexplainable fear crept back.

The man would never be able to say what it was that made him ill at ease around the attractive and otherwise friendly young man. It was just a vague sense of danger, but he couldn't quite shake it either, so Jasper took a step back, giving the man more room, becoming less threatening with distance. In truth, the distance wouldn't matter in the end if Jasper chose to kill the man, but he allowed the man the illusion anyway, trying in his own way to reassure the man that he would not be in danger this night. After all, the man had a wife waiting for him.

"No, thank you," Jasper said quietly, dropping his head shyly. He took another step back before turning away from the man and walking away. It took all the control he had to leave the man alive, but he couldn't kill him now. Not this man. He would have to feed soon, though.

Jasper continued down the street, not caring much where his feet took him. He stared at the ground as he walked, and it wasn't long until he caught new scents coming to him from somewhere up ahead. He looked up. At the end of the street was one of those shiny silver diners with large windows. In the darkening grey of the storm, the yellow light shone brightly and invitingly through the glass. The closer he walked, the stronger the scents became. There were only three or four humans in the metallic building. The smell of human food also wafted to him on the wind. Another scent caught his attention and set his nerves on edge. There was a vampire among the humans, but her scent was somehow very subtly off and this intrigued him.

He stretched out with his sixth sense, easily feeling the emotions of the humans in the diner, but those of the vampire stood out particularly strong. The emotions of vampires were always more vivid to him than humans, but this, too, was something else. He had never felt with such strength the emotions she emanated. Of the emotions he could identify, he felt expectation, and a mixture of frustration and excitement, as if she (and he could clearly see her now through the brightly lit windows) was waiting for something.

His curiosity got the better of him and he decided that this was as good a place as any to duck inside, out of the storm. He was mildly concerned about the temptation of those few humans, but he shoved the worry aside. He had been able to walk away from the other man. Perhaps he could last another day or two.

In a fluid motion, Jasper opened the door and stepped inside. The girl, surprisingly small and fragile-looking for a vampire, hopped off the stool upon which she had been perched, and started toward him. He nearly stepped back into a defensive crouch at her approach. Everything he knew of vampires indicated she would attack him, despite the human witnesses. He was likely encroaching on her hunting ground, given the darkness of her eyes. Besides, the only vampires that didn't react defensively when seeing Jasper where those that knew him well. His mind warned him of both these facts, but something else – had he had a beating heart, he would have said his heart – was telling him that she was not aggressive or threatening him in any way. In fact, she was smiling. It was not like the smiles Maria bestowed on him – smiles of triumph, ownership, and occasionally pride. Rather, it was amazingly warm and open and Jasper wondered for a minute if, by stepping from the shadowed grey land outside and into the warm light of the diner, he had wandered into a dream.

- - - - -

A/N – I am doing my best to stick as close to cannon as possible. As a result, I'm actually… contradicting the timeline Stephenie Meyer supposedly laid out in correspondence with the Twilight Lexicon. However, (and I may be wrong in my math; for some inexplicable reason, dates are difficult for me) I feel there should be more time between Jasper's transformation in 1863 and meeting Alice (the given date being 1948, but that's not close enough to a century for my liking. I know; a bit egomaniacal on my part). So I put their meeting at 1955, giving Jasper almost 90 years (89 to be exact) with Maria, two years with Peter and Charlotte, and a year on his own. I hope everything else fits properly with cannon.

The story is complete and is 8 chapters long. No worries on the story not being finished. Alas, I will not be accepting any requests (for this particular story ;) ), but if you have questions about the material, I will gladly answer. Also, have no fear, Alice and Jasper will officially meet... in chapter 3.

Also, thank you immensely to my mom - the best editor in the world - and my amici - thanks for being another set of eyes and someone with whom to share my Twilight obsession, not to mention a whole lot of other stuff. Thank you both.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - Alice

The first thing Alice saw when she awoke was a face she felt she should know, yet had never seen before. He was staring off in the distance, half turned away from her. She knew the man wasn't really there, but he was so real, so vivid. He was also terrifying to behold. His face and neck were covered with a myriad of haphazard, crescent-shaped scars, and the half-visible ones at his collar hinted that his face was not the only part of him so marred. A hiss of fear escaped her lips without conscious thought. She was vaguely aware, as she instinctively jumped into a defensive crouch, that her heart should have been racing loudly, but she couldn't feel or hear it.

As she warily watched the horrifying visage, she saw that his contemplative look shifted minutely into one of expectation.

_"Jasper." She heard her own voice, though she had not spoken. The man, Jasper, turned and was beaming at her. _

She had never seen love and tenderness so easy to read as they were in this man's eyes, and she knew that look was meant only for her.

The vision dissipated, the whole experience taking less than a second, and she suddenly missed him, her war-ravaged fallen angel with honey-blond hair and golden eyes.

It was only with this distraction gone that she became acutely aware of the burning in her throat that demanded action. Alice didn't know where she was. She couldn't remember… anything. She was in a tiny, nondescript, room, with the bed taking up the majority of the floor space. She saw that restraints had, at one time, kept her tethered to the bed. She didn't consciously remember breaking them, but the remnants remained on her wrists like bracelets. Something about them sent a shiver through her small frame and she clawed at them, surprised at the ease with which they fell away.

The door of the room was slightly ajar and, as she glanced around, she noticed the room had an overall disheveled feel, as if whoever had been there with her left in a hurry. She stepped out into a long hallway with doors on either side. There were no lights on and no windows in the hall, making it very dark even for her vampire eyes. The darkness sent another chill down her spine, and she hurried to leave this place as quickly as possible.

As she went, she listened and sniffed from time to time, trying to catch a scent or sign indicating she wasn't entirely alone. But it seemed the hotel, if that was indeed what this was, was completely vacant. She made her way to the lobby, and the nervousness induced by the dark lifted, thanks to the large glass windows at the front of the structure.

She stepped into the cool night air and the breeze wafted delicious scents to her nose. She followed, on instinct, and came to a small gathering of homeless people. They were huddled around garbage cans, and the smell of cheap booze and urine hung heavily in the air. Alice stayed in the shadows, gliding toward the nearest human. He was sitting in the shelter of a dumpster, drunk and unaware. She fed on him without anyone being the wiser. She grimaced at the taste of the alcohol mixed with his blood, but she was too ravenous to stop. By night's end, Alice had gorged herself, and no one would look too closely at the deaths of three vagrants on a cold night.

Alice's first year as a newborn was far more controlled than average. She knew she wasn't human and, through her visions, she knew she wasn't alone in her vampirism. While she waited for Jasper to find her, she had other, more shadowy, visions. She could not decipher them clearly, but she did understand that she would, one day, have a family that loved her. This inspired her to stay safe and remain controlled. Her visions showed her who her safest victims would be and what would draw the least amount of attention.

By the end of her first year, Alice had traveled from Biloxi to New Orleans. The flapper fashion of pale skin, dark eye make-up, ruby red lips and short hair fit her to a tee. Her cloche nearly covered her eyes and in the dark, smoky jazz clubs and dance halls, few noticed her eyes - they were too mesmerized by her grace and intimidated by her person. Her carefree and boisterous attitude also could not have been better suited to the time, and she loved the party atmosphere of her early existence. It was easy, in the crowded press of strangers, to find the prey that would stir up the least amount of suspicion.

Every few years, she traveled to a new city to avoid raising suspicion, all the while making her way north. She wanted to see New York City. When she finally arrived, she fell in love with the Big Apple and made a conscious effort to remain inconspicuous so she could return as often as she wished.

During one of her stays in New York, she had a vision of other vampires coming to the city. This was the first time she felt it was safe to cross their path. The vampires in the south were not nearly so hospitable as those in the north. It was one of her frustrations about the south, because their inhospitality was the greatest obstacle keeping her from Jasper. Should she attempt to get near him, she would surely be killed. As it was, she saw no such danger in meeting with Ciaran and Brigid. Ciaran was a two hundred year old Irishman who had come to the New World in the previous century with his mate, Brigid. When she saw that she would be staying with the couple for some time, Alice was forthcoming about her visions; the more vivid ones were hard to hide and she knew they would notice eventually anyway.

The idea of a vampire who could tell the future intrigued and excited Ciaran, so he was kind to Alice. Though he could teach her what she had not yet discovered on her own, he could not explain the golden eyes that Jasper sometimes had in her visions. He encouraged her to develop her gift, even giving her pointers where he could. Eventually, she was able to not only see things related directly to decisions she was making in the immediate future, but also things related to others. She could spy at will on Jasper's immediate future. She could tell if either Ciaran or Brigid would need to change their plans due to danger or suspicion they might arouse. She could predict the weather, natural disasters, and even stock market trends.

But there was one thing she failed to foresee.

Ciaran, Brigid, and Alice were hunting in the Catskill Mountains when they came across a lone hiker. It was dusk, and they discussed leaving him in favor of a larger group. The wind shifted, and all three vampires froze. The scent that came to them instinctively registered as dangerous, but none of them recognized it. In less then a minute, Alice's life changed. The lone hiker transformed before their eyes, first into a wolf and then, having caught their scent, it morphed again into a wolf-human hybrid, larger and stronger than either.

"A Child of the Moon," Ciaran whispered in awe.

"Impossible," Brigid said, her voice breathy with fear.

Alice was unfamiliar with the term, and the only fear she knew was instinctual. But she had not seen this creature in any of her visions, and didn't think any real danger existed for them. She always saw danger before it occurred.

But then the seven-foot-five wolf-man, with its razor-sharp claws and glistening teeth, was charging them.

"RUN!" Ciaran yelled.

She did not need to be told twice. Though she couldn't fully understand what was happening, Alice ran - until she heard the scream. Gliding to a stop, she pirouetted, and witnessed one of the most horrifying things she had ever seen. The werewolf had lunged, landing on Brigid, pinning her to the ground. For all her strength, she could not free herself. In less than a second, the wolf bit down on her thin neck, decapitating her.

A roar resounded from somewhere to Alice's right, and suddenly Ciaran was charging the beast. He rose on his hind legs, which still effectively pinned the now headless Brigid to the ground, caught Ciaran as he threw himself at the creature, and chucked him into the woods. With Ciaran temporarily out of sight, the werewolf turned its attention back to Brigid's body. He proceeded to rip and tear chunks of Brigid, with a sound like rending metal, and swallow them. The wolf tore free one of her arms just as Ciaran ran back through the woods, roaring furiously the whole time. The werewolf again threw him away, like a child with a rag doll. Three times Ciaran returned, only to be thrown away.

Alice watched with morbid fascination as the werewolf tore Brigid apart. He kept a wary eye on her, but otherwise was unperturbed by her presence, being much more interested in finishing his meal.

The fourth time Ciaran returned, the werewolf must have decided he had had enough and sprinted away. Ciaran paused by his mate's destroyed body. Without turning to look at Alice, he asked, "Why didn't you see this?"

The venom in his voice was unmistakable and Alice had no answer. "I… I…"

"You have as long as it takes me to kill the beast and bury my wife's ashes. Then be watching for me."

Alice fled.

After nearly a week, Alice still had not fed, her entire concentration having been spent avoiding Ciaran and hiding her trail. But the burning thirst was strong, and she found herself drawn to a large gathering. As she got closer, she realized it was a traveling circus. She made her way into the tent and nearly frenzied due to the sheer number of people crammed under the big top, their scents swirling and mingling, unable to escape the stuffy enclosure. She crept along under one set of bleachers, looking for a likely target on which to feed, when she suddenly froze, swept away in a vision of the future. She saw herself as part of the troop – an acrobat. The vision shifted, and she watched in fascination as she saw herself sitting in a tent with the other performers, laughing at some joke that had just been told. The vision shifted one more time, and she saw herself speaking with the ringmaster alone in his tent, not unlike a father and child sitting together. When she came out of the vision, she remained still, processing all she had seen. She had never before considered joining with the humans for any length of time. Though she had stayed in fixed locations, she never maintained any relationships or contacts with humans. In fact, Ciaran and Brigid were the only friends she'd ever had.

A wave of sadness and guilt ran through her at the thought, but she quickly pushed it aside, comforting herself with the knowledge that she would one day have a permanent family. The more she thought about it, the more perfect it seemed. The circus was constantly moving from place to place, and this one remained in the south. Most vampires who were from the north shied away from the 'less civilized' south. She had been born here and knew the territories fairly well, without the help of her built in 'advanced warning system.' As a result, she thought it would be unlikely that Ciaran would come looking for her here.

She waited around until long after the show, choosing not to feed, for fear that her red eyes would be too noticeable. The audience melted away, and even the clean-up crew finished for the evening, before she made her move. She looked ahead to the future to find a time when the ringmaster would be alone in the big top and was pleasantly surprised to find she would not have to wait long.

With just a minute until the ringmaster was going to enter the tent, Alice raced to the top of the tall platform used by the trapeze artists. The trapeze was tethered to the platform and she released the rope holding it, then jumped. Alice was pleasantly surprised to discover how agile and graceful she really was, never having put her skills to the test in such a fashion. She became so absorbed in her own performance, delighting in her body's mechanics and the feeling of flying, that she didn't immediately notice the ringmaster enter the ring below her. Once she did notice, she continued to perform until she knew the man couldn't help but be impressed. Then she alighted on the platform and descended to the ring below.

Alice had learned much about human behavior during her years as a flapper, particularly when it came to the behaviors of men and women. She pretended to be embarrassed at having been caught trespassing. The ringmaster took an immediate liking to her, recognizing her talent and her beauty. She was introduced the next day to the rest of the troupe and began traveling with them. Her warm, gregarious personality endeared her to her fellow circus performers, despite the subconscious distance they gave to her. The men, in particular, seemed to look on her as someone who needed protecting.

She had to feed, however, or risk injuring someone in her new family. The crowds at the circus provided a cornucopia of possible meals. Alice was careful to chose people who had traveled far to see the show. Then she would sniff out their car and dispose of the evidence, becoming as adept at faking car accidents as she had faking other tragedies in the past. Often she would drive an hour or more away to remove suspicion from the circus. No one bothered to question her about her eyes. She spent most of her time in the tents and only mingled with the crowds at night. Human eyes are weak, and in the dark, most just assumed it was a trick of the lights that turned her eyes that odd shade – for those brave enough to look her in the eye.

It was about five years later that Alice was riding shotgun in a sturdy pick-up truck, towing the pair of tigers to their next camp site somewhere in northwest Louisiana. Everyone else had left earlier, but she had stayed behind with the ringmaster, John, to finalize their business dealings at the last camp.

She had been somewhat withdrawn that day, searching the future, trying to find her way to Jasper - again. It frustrated her that they were so close, relatively, yet so far from each other. No matter how she approached Mexicali, she could not get to him. She always ended up dead before she was even able to see his face. John had no idea why his young friend was so morose, but tried his best to cheer her. He had just succeeded in finally making her laugh, when a deer darted out of the tree line on their right and froze in their headlights. Alice braced herself as the truck swerved. It only clipped the deer, but John lost control of the pick-up and crashed into the sheer rock wall on the left side of the road.

Alice froze. Her vision swam, not from injury, but because a vision flashed before her eyes – one in which she was killing this man she loved. The truck had just come to a crunching stop when she smelled the blood. She closed her eyes and held her breath, trying to ignore the burning in her throat, the tensing of her muscles, and the flow of venom that had automatically started with the first scent of blood. She'd heard the snap as his wrist broke, giving way as his locked arm impacted with the unforgiving steering wheel, and she could only hope that would be the worst of his injuries, despite what she'd seen. She was vaguely aware that John was speaking.

"My tigers were almost taken out by a deer," John chuckled, trying to ease the tension. His left arm was throbbing and he was having difficulty lifting it through the pain. He felt warm liquid drip down the left side of his face, and he raised his right hand to prod the area. His fingertips were covered in blood when he brought his hand back down. He was suddenly aware that Alice had not responded to his lame attempt at a joke. In fact, he couldn't even hear her breathing. He looked over at her and saw that she was sitting as still as a statue, with her eyes squeezed tightly shut.

"Alice?" he asked with concern. "Alice, are you okay sweetheart?" As he said this, he reached out with blood smeared fingers to jostle her shoulder.

The instant he touched her, her eyes snapped open. He had less than a second to feel the terror that her predatory look inspired.

Her concentration broken, Alice lunged.

When she finished, and John was dead - a look of surprise, terror, and pain forever frozen on his face, as it would be in her memory - she ran. A second time. After a few hundred miles, the emotions that she could not outrun weighed her down like leaden boots and she sank to the ground in the middle of the Ozarks. Pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, she tried to hold herself together, feeling herself destined to be alone. Her existence had started alone. She spent the first decade of her new existence as a vampire alone. When she'd finally found families with which to belong, her ties had been severed tragically. And she felt it was her fault. Had she had a vision of the werewolf, Brigid would not be dead. Had she not been concentrating so hard on a future that was not ready to be, she might have foreseen the accident that killed John.

Perhaps she relied too much on those visions.

But they were part of her; part of who she was. And they were the part that offered her the most hope. It was because of them she had seen Jasper and knew she would not always be alone. And, due to the shadowed shapes of others, she knew she would one day have a family.

She wondered if, by trying to force the future, she had created the tragedies around her. But then she realized that, had she not joined with Ciaran and Brigid, she would still be wandering aimlessly and without any real control over her visions. And had she not left them, Jasper would likely not join her. His mistrust of existing covens would have driven him away.

She regretted John's death. Not only was she responsible, because she had not seen it coming in time to prevent it, but she was the one who had killed him. It wasn't a werewolf and it wasn't the accident. It was her. She wasn't sure if she would be able to feed on another human again without thinking of John.

It was with this thought that one of her shadowed visions began. It started the same as all the others – the images blurry. Had Alice been able to recall human experiences, she would have likened what she saw to what a nearsighted person sees in the distance. But suddenly the glasses were put on. The images cleared, and she was surrounded by six vampires, all with eyes the same gold shade as Jasper's.

She knew them by sight, as if her future self was thinking their names as she looked around the room. Edward was playing the piano. He was a gifted musician, even among their kind. Carlisle, a doctor, had one hand holding a book, and his other holding his wife, Esme. She was leaning into her husband with her own book in hand, a contented smile on her lips. Rosalie was pouring over some kind of manual, while Emmett was playing chess – with Jasper. Alice wasn't sure what she had been doing prior to this point in the vision, but as soon as she looked at Jasper, he lifted his eyes from the chess match and smiled.

The vision faded and left Alice feeling warm and comforted, yet oddly dissatisfied. She wanted the vision to be true NOW. And she wanted to know the mystery behind the golden eyes. She was comforted that her future was still on track; that something in her had shifted to make the future more certain, crystallizing the images. She wondered, now that she knew the faces and names of her family, if she would be able to keep track of them as she could Jasper.

Never one to dwell, Alice pulled herself back up. She looked ahead briefly to determine in which direction to head. She decided that the time had not yet come for her to meet Jasper, his eyes were still clearly red the last time she checked, so she was going to stay in the Midwest and start making her way up north. She joined a carnival group for a while as an acrobat, then joined a theater group. Though she enjoyed the parties and fanfare, the other actors were not as welcoming of her as the carnie-folk.

After a while, she joined another carnival group, this time as a fortune teller. She had fun testing her limits and making a show of her abilities. No one suspected a thing and, if she ever phased out due to a vision, everyone assumed it was because she was in character. Even her appearance added to the mystery of her 'character.' Being allowed to more openly view the future, Alice soon learned the secret behind the golden eyes. She found herself remarkably relieved to find out that it wasn't necessary to feed on humans. She would no longer have John's face haunting her every time she fed. It was not as easy a diet as it seemed, and she gave in to temptation twice, despite being well fed with animal blood, but her ability to see the future helped her steer clear of most tempting situations.

It was the early fifties when, while doing a reading for a local customer, Alice was drawn into a vision. Peter, whom she remembered from visions in years past, had gone to visit Jasper to convince him to leave Maria. Within hours Jasper left, heading north with Peter and Charlotte. Alice's vision shifted, sort of fast-forwarding, and she saw herself sitting on a stool in a diner. It was raining outside, and the lights inside were warm and bright. The bell over the door, which rang whenever the door was opened, tinkled merrily - and in walked her Jasper.

Alice smiled. She stood up in the middle of her session and, with a brief apology, left. She began to head east, several of her earlier vague visions clicking into place, telling her the general direction of the diner. She knew she had to go to Philadelphia. The only thing she didn't know was the timeframe.

Two years later, she'd found the diner and made it her habit to sit on the same stool every stormy late afternoon. She'd gotten herself a car and an apartment and settled in. One evening she watched as Jasper made the decision to leave Peter and Charlotte. She cried for him and only became more eager for his arrival. She came to understand that she would be the one to help him – to save him. He did not know that vampires could feed on animals, and it would be up to her to show him the way.

Every time it rained, she sat on the diner stool, contemplating their first meeting. She envisioned throwing herself at him – too excited to contain her emotions. She'd been waiting so long. But she quickly realized that would not go over well. She had a vision of just that event and Jasper reacted, thinking he was being attacked. He'd nearly killed her and, while she was confident they would still be able to build a relationship – it was destined, after all – she decided that would not be the best beginning for him, not when she was trying to heal him.

So it was, when Jasper walked into their diner, it took everything she had to contain her excitement and relief that the day had finally come.

- - - - -

A/N – Not much is given regarding Alice's history so I took great liberty with it. I hope that was okay with everyone. Regarding the werewolf, since a true 'child of the moon' is never introduced or described in the books, I included my own version of them. Some of you may see that he closely resembles a White Wolf werewolf (called a Garou). It's not exactly the same, but since I don't go into much detail, I'm sure it looks exactly the same (and none of you probably care about my own mental vision of a werewolf anyway :D ). But White Wolf definitely inspired my version.

Thank you to reader13lovesbooks and SWaddict1986 and anyone else who read the story and enjoyed it. Thank you also to my wonderful editor - mom, and my lovely beta - amici. Thank you!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – Together at Last

"You've kept me waiting a long time," Alice said, her emotions a mixture of relief, amusement, and… something on which Jasper couldn't, or wouldn't, put a name. She also seemed to be holding herself back.

Feeling a bit unsure of himself, Jasper ducked his head and said, "I'm sorry, ma'am." He felt everything she did but, try as he might, he couldn't begin to make sense of it. The black-haired pixie held out her hand for Jasper. He believed this was one of those pivotal moments in life when choosing one option meant life continued as it always had, but choosing another, stepping beyond himself and taking this breathtakingly beautiful woman's hand, his life would be forever altered – for the better. Feeling hope for the first time since he was turned, he took her outstretched hand and couldn't help the smile that pulled up the sides of his mouth. Her eyes twinkled joyously and she led Jasper back out into the rain.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, Alice leading, Jasper still too befuddled to do anything but let her. He reveled in these new feelings of hope and joy. He was half afraid to speak. Afraid that speaking would somehow break the spell. If Maria was a demon, this petite girl was an angel. And he didn't even know her name. He inclined his head ever so slightly in her direction, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. Her hair, which had been sticking out at odd angles in the diner, was now plastered to her head. It was no less endearing. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by her wind chime-like soprano voice.

"Alice," the angel said.

"Pardon me?" Jasper asked. It wasn't that he hadn't heard her, he was just shocked that she had answered his question. He didn't think he had spoken it aloud.

"My name," she said by way of explanation. "My name is Alice."

"Alice," Jasper said, almost reverently. "I'm… "

"Jasper," Alice said confidently.

Jasper stopped moving. He'd all but forgotten that Alice's hand was still in his, it fit so comfortably, but Alice had failed to stop when he did and she jerked at the sudden hindrance to her forward momentum. She turned to look Jasper in the face, an act made difficult by the rain pouring down into her eyes. She saw the caution and wariness in his eyes and frowned.

"Hmm," she intoned.

"What?" Jasper asked, matching her frown.

She reached up to touch his face and he flinched ever so slightly, very conscious of the many scars that marred him and inspired fear in most of his kind. She was not dissuaded, however, and continued to reach until her finger tips met his brow. She brushed her fingers across his forehead, trying to smooth the creases. "I've never seen you with that expression," she said quietly, concern evident in her tone. "At least not when you're with me."

She did not remove her fingers from his face and, in fact, they continued to travel, exploring the planes of his face, tracing the patterns of his scars. Jasper was sure that, had he had a heart that beat, it would have burst out of his chest by now and run screaming down the street behind him. Alice's touch was far more intimate than anything he was used to. When he could take no more, he gently grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand away.

"Alice," he whispered, his voice strained and pleading.

Alice's eyes locked with his. "I'm sorry," she said, before the smile returned to her face. "I forget."

Jasper spocked an eyebrow, his question expressed on his face rather than verbalized. Without either communicating the desire to do so, both started walking again.

"I can… see the future," Alice said, and for the first time since they had met, there was hesitancy in her voice.

Jasper's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Huh."

"Mm-hmm." Alice smiled up at Jasper. She had turned sideways while she walked, so she could look up at him and watch his facial expressions.

"Can you see everything?" Jasper asked curiously.

"Mm, no. There are some things I can see easily, like the weather. That is independent of free will and conscious choice. But things that require a decision… that gets more complicated and I usually can't see the outcome until a decision has been made."

Jasper thought about this for a moment. "But you saw me?"

Alice faced forward again, her head ducking shyly. "I've seen you many times," she answered. "Even before you started looking for me."

"Before… I… what?" Jasper asked, his speech stilted in surprise. "I," he began timidly, not wanting to hurt Alice's feelings, and realizing he cared very much if he did. "I haven't been looking for you."

Far from being offended, Alice giggled, "Yes you have. You've told me you have… Or you will." She beamed up at him. "You just didn't know it. But you have been searching, right?"

Jasper thought about this a moment before he nodded in assent. "Yes, but…"

"Your answer just didn't come in the form you thought it would," Alice explained confidently.

Jasper shook his head, the corners of his mouth turning up again. "No, I guess not."

His smile was not the full bright one she was used to seeing, but Alice figured it was a start.

"When did you first see me?" Jasper asked, the curiosity clearly shining in his eyes. Again, he wasn't sure why it mattered so much to him, he just knew it did.

"Well," Alice explained lightly. "You are, actually, the first memory I have." She paused. Had she been capable, she would have blushed scarlet.

Something about her embarrassment made Jasper's smile grow, as if she had any reason to be self-conscious around him. Imagine: the angel concerned about what the beast thought of her. "How old are you?"

Alice giggled, sending a thrill of pleasure through Jasper. "Don't you know it's impolite to ask a lady her age?" she teased.

It was Jasper's turn to (not) blush. "I'm sorry."

Alice laughed. "I'm teasing." She shrugged, "I was turned in 1920. Beyond that, I don't know my age."

Jasper frowned a little in contemplation. "You don't know how old you were before the change?"

"No," Alice said lightly, though Jasper could feel the small amount of discomfort this caused her. "I don't have any memories before waking up and seeing your face."

"You have no human memories?"

"None."

"And I'm the first thing you saw after you were turned." It was more of a statement then a question. "That had to be… unsettling for you," he said, half to himself.

Alice chuckled. "It was." She felt Jasper tense at her side and continued, hoping to amend his assumption. "But then I saw the way you were looking at me and… I haven't been afraid since."

Jasper walked on in silence. He had spent years learning to hide his emotions and protect himself. Suddenly he felt as if he couldn't hide if he wanted, and it left him feeling exposed. Alice had clearly alluded to emotions he was only beginning to realize were rising up in him despite the incredibly short amount of time he'd been near this woman.

"I don't even notice them anymore," Alice said matter-of-factly.

Jasper didn't have to ask to know she was referring to his scars. And he was comforted by the sincerity of her emotions. Had anyone else said that to him, he would have scoffed, internally at least. But he could feel nothing but truth coming from Alice.

"We're here," Alice declared.

They were standing outside a simple brick apartment building.

"This is where I live," Alice explained further. "For now, anyway." She led him through the main entrance and up a flight of stairs. She slid a key into the first doorknob on the right and opened the door. Alice gestured for Jasper to enter, which he did, but remained by the door, not wanting to track water and mud through the apartment. As he looked around, he noticed that Alice seemed to be waiting for something.

The floor plan of the apartment was open, allowing Jasper to see the living room, dining room, and kitchen from his location at the door. He was slightly bewildered by loud colors in wild patterns that seemed to be haphazardly displayed throughout the living space. The furniture and kitchen cabinets were rectangular, blocky. It was all perfectly modern.

"Wow," was all Jasper could manage. After the shock wore off, he managed a chuckle. The décor seemed so perfectly Alice.

Alice took that as approval, releasing the tension of uncertainty as she saw Jasper's smile. She flitted away to her bedroom and came back a moment later carrying a towel and a change of clothes, her own towel draped around her small shoulders. "The bathroom is the door to the left, just before the bedroom."

"I… can't take these," Jasper said skeptically.

"Yes you can. I bought them for you. Besides, you're dripping all over my floor."

Jasper snorted and shook his head. He had a feeling he'd not win many arguments with this fiery lady. He took the clothes and headed toward the bathroom. He was a little nervous that Alice was following him, but then remembered her bedroom was just beyond the bathroom and she was dripping wet, too.

By the time Jasper finished with his shower and changed, Alice was curled up on one of the stiff-looking armchairs. Jasper sat cautiously on the couch. The odd, dreamlike quality that had settled on him upon stepping foot into the diner still hadn't quite lifted. But he was also beginning to feel the old familiar burn of thirst and he didn't think being in a crowded apartment building – he could hear at least fifteen distinct heartbeats – was the best place for him to be.

"So this is your place," Jasper said, trying to start conversation. He thought there was a certain irony to that, since he seldom initiated conversation, but he was still very curious about this woman before him.

"Yes," Alice said enthusiastically smiling. "Do you like it?"

Jasper chuckled. "It's definitely you."

Alice tilted her head to the side, and an emotion Jasper could only describe as warmth emanated from her.

"What?" Jasper asked curiously.

"That's the second time you've laughed, you know."

Jasper looked down, averting his eyes, but he still smiled.

After another minute of silence, which Jasper realized wasn't uncomfortable, he asked, "Can you tell me about them? Your visions?"

"What do you want to know?" Alice asked.

Jasper hadn't really thought about it, he just wanted to hear her talk. "Does what you see always come true?"

Alice thought about this for a minute. "Usually. But… let's say you decided to take a specific course of action. I would see the decision and its result. However, you could choose to change your mind. Then the result would be different. Or, let's say you couldn't decide what you wanted to do – I might see both results, or both results might be unclear to me."

Jasper nodded, contemplating what she was saying. "And is it always something you choose to see?"

"No. Sometimes I get flashes of things without expecting them. Like when I saw you. I didn't know to look for you, or even who you were. But there you were."

"Why do you suppose that is?" Jasper asked. After a brief pause, he added, "I mean, I didn't consciously choose to leave Maria until only three years ago. I didn't even know that was an option before then. So why would you see me?" A small part of Jasper's mind marveled at how easy it was for him to talk about his time with Maria with Alice. In all his time traveling with Peter and Charlotte, they steered clear of the subject, as if even thinking about that time and place would draw them back in to it.

"I think…" Alice paused. She wasn't sure how to word what she wanted to say. She didn't want to freak Jasper out. She searched ahead, picking her words carefully and checking for his reaction to them. She finally settled on, "Because we are meant to be."

Jasper 'heard' a nearly audible click as some abstract piece of his life clicked into place and the world shifted beneath his feet, much like it had when he'd first seen Alice, only stronger and more securely this time. Alice spoke the truth. They were meant to be together. That knowledge lifted a burden from his shoulders that he wasn't consciously aware of until that moment. He knew how mates worked among vampires. It was eternal. And there was nothing either one of them could do to lessen the connection – or sever it. He figured it was as close as most vampires ever got to real love.

His only external response to Alice's words was a nod, in which he both agreed with what she said, and accepted it as fact.

"So where do we go from here?" Jasper asked.

Alice beamed, and before he knew what was coming, she threw herself at him, finally giving him the hug she'd wanted to give from the moment she saw him. He stiffened at first, in surprise and probably habit, but slowly relaxed into the embrace, returning it in full.

Alice settled herself on Jasper's lap, facing him, with her legs wrapped loosely around his waist. Alice's arms made a loose circle around his neck, as his encircled her waist. As they sat there, a force built tangibly between them. It took Jasper a second to realize what was happening. Being in such close contact with Alice, the intensity with which he felt her emotions increased exponentially. At the same time, he was, without conscious thought, passing his own emotions back to her. This created a unique interplay in which their emotions fed off each other, reacting and interacting, growing, morphing, and all the while holding them both captive as they stared into each other's eyes.

Jasper once again felt like his life was being laid bare before Alice, except without thoughts or pictures. She didn't know the details, maybe, but she could feel every emotion - good, bad, shameful, those he tried to hide, and those he couldn't even if he wanted to. He felt the same from her, and neither of them shied away. Instead they hungered for more, to know each other fully like neither had been known before.

They had both stopped breathing, stopped moving altogether. Then their emotions began to calm, as if they had been suddenly synchronized, no emotion fighting for dominance, simply settling into being. As this happened, they both began to breathe gain, in unison. Jasper removed one of his hands from Alice's waist and touched the side of her face, breaking eye contact for the first time since the strange feedback began. He took in the lines of her face, cupped her cheek and, with his thumb, caressed her smooth forehead. Alice tightened her grip on the back of his neck and began drawing him forward. Still in sync, their breathing came harder and faster, and then they were kissing. Heat and passion, new to them both, grew and spread between them, threatening to swallow all thought and reason in a way the hunt never had.

Their lips separated and they rested their foreheads against each other, just breathing in each other – their scents, their emotions, their being.

"Wow," Alice finally whispered.

Jasper let out a quiet chuckle of agreement.

"I should…" Alice said, still sounding as if she needed to catch her breath.

"Yeah," Jasper said, just as breathlessly.

Alice started to disengage herself, but moaned as the emotional cocoon around them slowly dissipated, leaving them both wanting.

Jasper smiled and gently shifted her to the side, so she was sitting next to him on the couch. He settled in, leaning his head against the back of the couch, and she curled up, her back to his side, tucked neatly under his arm.

A minute ticked by in which both sat in silent contemplation, Alice asked, "Is that how it always works for you?"

"No. Never. I mean, I feel others' emotions. But… others only feel what I want them to feel," Jasper explained.

Alice watched as her hands played with Jasper's hand, entwining and releasing, as she thought. "I see… a lot in my visions. But I never feel… Other than the emotion any particular vision elicits from me, that is. I simply observe." Alice explained. "You were lonely."

"Mm," Jasper intoned, not denying what he knew she had been able to feel from him.

It was a fine distinction, one he envied somewhat if he was honest with himself. Jasper felt everything from those around him, every bitter emotion, the stabbing of hate, the strangling of fear, the slithering of mistrust. There was the good, too, but before tonight he could not appreciate those, not having felt them for himself. Alice had been privy to much with her visions, more than he would have wanted her to see, he could safely assume, but she hadn't felt any of it. She had been safe. Until tonight. And while part of him would have wanted to shield her from the worst of his emotions and, truthfully, protect himself from the possibility of rejection, there was freedom in what they shared. They were fully exposed to each other, nothing left to hide, and they clung to each other all the more.

He felt safe for the first time in his life – not just from physical danger – but he'd given her his heart and she wrapped it up carefully with hers. They shared just one now, and he would die to protect that. And he was sure she would too.

"You're not alone anymore."

- - - - -

A/N - Thank you to those who read and reviewed. I really appreciate it! Thank you reader13lovesbooks, SWaddict1986, and J.A. Carlton (:D welcome, Lady). Thank you, also, to mom for the editing and beta-ing. Thank you!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - Living

"Do you trust me?" Alice asked, suddenly getting to her feet.

Jasper nodded. "Yes."

He and Alice had been talking for the past few hours when she had suddenly, without any cue he had seen, stood. She favored him with a warm smile before dashing away to her bedroom, only to return seconds later, shoving two suitcases and a guitar case into Jasper's arms. She maintained her hold on a small overnight bag and headed for the door.

"You play?" Jasper asked, inclining his head toward the guitar.

"No." Alice was confused for a second before her eyes alighted on the guitar. Then she lit up and smiled brightly. "Oh! I forgot." She froze indecisively with her arms stretched out as if she were going to take the bags back, then she decided better of it. Instead she waved for Jasper to follow. "In the car."

Jasper shrugged and followed Alice out the door. Once outside, Jasper glanced up, taking in the night sky. The clouds had dissipated, and he had to concentrate for a moment to remember what the sky was supposed to look like over Philadelphia at this time of year. Though he could read the position of the stars easily, they did not hold the familiarity of the southern sky. He estimated it was early evening; probably 9 o'clock.

Alice stopped behind one of the nicest cars Jasper had seen. He recognized it immediately as a soft-top '55 Chevy Corvette. She opened the trunk and placed the suitcases inside. She took the guitar from Jasper last, laying the case on top of the suitcases and opening it. Jasper couldn't help but lean in curiously.

"Alice," he said in awe. Lying inside the case was a1940's Martin – 12 frets. He could feel Alice watching him, but for once his eyes were transfixed by something else. He reached tentatively for it, then stopped. "Do you mind?"

"No," Alice said, her voice quiet, as if she didn't want to interrupt the moment.

Jasper smiled and picked up the guitar. He examined the craftsmanship carefully and seemed more than satisfied with what he saw. He turned to sit on the edge of the still open trunk and cocked his head to the side as he tuned the instrument, then played a chord. Satisfied with the sound, he flew through several scales testing the overall sound quality.

"If you don't play, why do you have a guitar?" Jasper asked, while his fingers continued to dance and caress the neck of the guitar.

"Do you like it?" Alice asked.

He stopped playing abruptly. "You didn't!?" Jasper wasn't sure how to feel about the guitar. He loved playing. It was one of the few pleasures he had during his life in the south, and it was all his. He believed it was one of the things that kept him sane, his own private escape. But he couldn't take his guitar with him. The nomadic life didn't go well with lots of baggage, so he'd left his behind. And now Alice had bought, or stolen, one for him.

"I did," she beamed.

Jasper couldn't help but smile at the joy the gift gave to her. He felt like he was lagging behind. Alice knew so much more about him than he did her, and it made him regret not having left sooner.

Alice's mood shifted slightly to one of perplexity. He looked up at her to see her staring off into the distance, or really, rather, she was staring inwardly into the distance. A frown creased her perfect brow. "I don't see you with it in the future, though. I have no idea what you did with it, but if you don't want it, you don't have to keep it."

Jasper chuckled. He couldn't fathom a reason why he would ever get rid of this treasure. "Do you know anything about guitars?"

"Not much," Alice admitted. "Just that this is supposed to be a good one."

Jasper snorted. "'Good one,'" he repeated incredulously. "Yes," he confirmed. "It's a 'good one'."

Alice tapped his leg. "Bring it up front. We'll have music as we drive."

Jasper grabbed the guitar and moved to the passenger seat of the 'Vette. He heard the luggage shift, then the trunk close just a moment before Alice appeared in the driver's side, not bothering to open the door, instead leaping gracefully into the seat and sliding into position. She started the car and off they drove, Jasper playing whatever song came into his head. Some of them Alice recognized. When she did, she inevitably sang along or hummed a harmony line, which only served to deepen Jasper's love of the instrument. Alice had an exquisite singing voice.

After an hour of driving, Jasper realized he had no idea where they were going, or why. It didn't matter so much to him, as long as he and Alice were together, and he marveled a little at the thought.

"Where are we going?" he finally asked.

"Hunting," Alice answered. She must have felt Jasper tense, because she asked, "Do you trust me?"

Jasper sighed. "It's not you, Alice… And I've already told you I do," he added as an afterthought.

"Well, then… What is it?" she asked, taking her eyes off the road to look at him.

"I've never felt this…" he searched for a word that adequately described his current emotional state. "… good." Somehow, that fell short, but it was also the best all-encompassing description he could think of. "I'm just not ready for that to end."

Alice smiled at him. The confident look she gave him said she held the answers to the secrets of the universe and, since he trusted her, everything would be all right. "You'll be fine." She even chuckled, seeing something in the future that amused her.

A dirt road appeared on their left and Alice followed it a ways to an old abandoned log cabin. She pulled up next to the dilapidated structure and got out of the car. Jasper followed her to the trunk and watched as she rummaged through one of the suitcases. She pulled out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, which she handed to Jasper, and a pair of pedal pushers and a sweater for her.

When Jasper spocked his eyebrow questioningly, Alice said, "You can't hunt in that. And I'm not hunting in a skirt. This is the fifties, you know." As she skipped away, she glanced over her shoulder, grinned, and teased, "I've got the cabin!"

Once they were both more comfortably dressed, Alice came up next to Jasper, looking very serious. Jasper felt her uncertainty and wondered what her hesitancy could be.

"I want you to try something," Alice said. "Keep an open mind, okay?"

"O-kay," Jasper answered slowly.

"Okay." Alice closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was obviously sniffing the air for a scent, but all Jasper could smell were animals. She opened her eyes and smiled. "Perfect. Do you know your animals?"

"Uh," Jasper frowned. What did that mean?

"Can you distinguish animals? By scent."

"I suppose. Why?"

"We're hunting bear," Alice explained casually.

Jasper became very still. It was incomprehensible. He knew what Alice had said; it just didn't make any sense. "Why?" he asked again.

"To feed, silly," Alice answered, slapping him lightly on the chest.

Still, the words and the concept were not forming a connection in Jasper's brain. "I'm sor… What?"

"There are two bears not far from here. We're going to hunt _them_. Feed on _them_." Alice was becoming a little concerned about the blank stare on Jasper's face.

"We… They… They can't...," Jasper tried three times to say something coherent, but was coming up short. He finally settled on, "Can we do that?"

Alice smiled, seeing that it was finally sinking in. "Yes, though," she made a face, "it takes a little getting used to. And I'm starting you on bear because deer is just…" Alice shivered slightly in apparent distaste. "But we'll get used to it."

"We will?"

"Mm-hmm," Alice was smiling again. "Let's go," she said with way more enthusiasm than Jasper could muster. The bears didn't even smell good. He vaguely wondered if vampires could vomit and how embarrassing would that be? But he followed Alice anyway. After all, he'd declared his implicit trust in her twice tonight. And she had been upfront about the taste.

It didn't take them long to track down the bears. Though Jasper easily overpowered his bear, he wasn't exactly sure how to go about feeding off of it, so he kept his at bay while watching Alice.

Alice had shimmied up a tree and dropped down on her bear from above, like a bird of prey snatching a fish from a lake. She landed on the animal's back, nearly twice her size and easily three times her human weight. It was disconcerting, to say the least. But her razor sharp teeth were no match for the animal's fur or skin, and she bit into the animal's throat, drinking as she would from any human.

The smell of the creature's blood did nothing to encourage Jasper to feed, but he followed Alice's example, and seemed to know by instinct, or some vampire's sixth sense, right where the artery would be. He literally had to force the liquid down, but he also had to admit that it did soothe the thirst and sate his appetite, even if unsatisfactorily.

He let the bear fall to the ground and noticed he had something in his mouth. He searched with his fingers and pulled two hairs out of his mouth. With a groan and roll of his eyes, he spent the next minute spitting out bear fur. He heard Alice giggle quietly, but by the time he was done, she was practically doubled-over, laughing. He shook his head.

"This is going to take some getting used to," he mumbled, turning to Alice.

"Here," she said, still chuckling, though she did try to stifle it. She walked up to him, and helped wipe away any residual fur from his mouth and face.

The odd emotional electricity began to flow between them again with their close proximity and the intimacy of their actions. It was interrupted when Alice looked Jasper in the eye, and he couldn't help the jolt of surprise that nearly made him step back. "Alice," he began cautiously, "What's wrong with your eyes?"

"Well," Alice said, in forced indignation. "That wasn't exactly the reaction I was hoping for. 'They're beautiful, Alice.' Or 'I've never seen anything like that, Alice,'" she continued. "But 'What's wrong with your eyes?' Wasn't expecting that one."

Jasper looked at her incredulously. "You weren't expecting that? I find that hard to believe."

"Don't try to distract me. We were talking about your faux pas here."

"Okay," Jasper said patiently. He put his hands on her waist and leaned his face close to hers. "I'm sorry," he said. "That was very rude of me." Jasper lifted her off the ground, and Alice responded by wrapping her legs around his waist and hanging her arms loosely around his neck. He started walking - carrying her like a child, and her hanging on and grinning like the Cheshire cat. But really, Jasper thought to himself, it was the only way to comfortably stay on her eye level. She was more than a foot shorter than he – nearly a foot and a half. "Why are your eyes a different color than any other vampire I've seen?" As an afterthought, he added, "And yes, they're beautiful, nor have I seen anything like it… or you for that matter."

"Better. And thank you," she accepted his apology. "Haven't you guessed?"

"The animal blood."

Alice nodded.

"Are my eyes that color now?" Jasper asked. How many things could this one small vessel change about him, he wondered. And in such a short time.

"They will be," Alice said. "And," she added, wiggling a little in discomfort as she tried to broach a topic she wasn't sure Jasper was ready for. "We're not the only ones."

Jasper's eyes remained locked with Alice's. He didn't need to see where he was going. Between the perfect memory, and the scent trail the two of them left, his eyes never needed to leave hers. He had never been as satisfied being a vampire as he was right now.

He lifted his eyebrows, an unspoken question as to whom else she was referring.

"There is a family…"

"A coven?" Jasper asked. He tried to remain open to what she was saying, but he could feel himself tense. It felt like he had just escaped a coven and found freedom with this woman – freedom he never knew was possible – and she was now asking him to join with a coven.

"No," Alice corrected. "A family. They love each other, Jasper. Their relationships aren't born out of need and blood, but out of love and concern for one another."

Jasper sighed. They had reached the cabin, and he put Alice back on her feet. He needed the distance anyway. Since that first connection they'd made in the apartment, it seemed whenever he was near her, he couldn't stop his emotions from flowing to her as freely as hers did to him. But he needed time to work through what she was saying. Most selfishly, he wasn't sure he was ready to share Alice with other vampires.

"Is that where we're going?" Jasper asked.

Alice did not miss the hint of sadness in his voice. "When you're ready," she answered. She had suspected he would resist being in close proximity to others right away, so she tried to squelch her own impatience.

Jasper felt it anyway, though he misinterpreted it as impatience with him. He had been surprised by her offer of waiting, but he didn't want to disappoint her either. "We can go."

"No," Alice said again, her head cocking slightly in that way that Jasper was beginning to recognize was her searching the future. "You're not ready."

It was a simple statement of fact, and it was said without judgment. Jasper was again comforted by the freedom Alice gave him to just be himself. He didn't know what she had seen to make her so sure that he wasn't ready to go, but he was glad for it anyway.

"We'll stay here tonight," Alice said, and opened the trunk of the car.

Jasper looked uncertainly at the rickety old structure. "I think I'd rather sleep in the car."

"Ha ha," Alice said petulantly. "The sun's almost up and we need to stay out of sight. Besides, you don't sleep."

Jasper carried the bags into the cabin. The door was so weather-worn, the lock did nothing to keep it sealed. The cabin was so unsteady, he wondered if it would fall down on them during the night but, with a chuckle, he thought if that was going to happen, Alice would be forewarned at least.

Once they settled against one of the walls – the furniture was too moth- and termite-eaten to be of use – Alice requested, quietly, "Would you play something for me?"

Jasper played a few familiar songs, listening as Alice hummed along, before playing something he'd written. If there was any possibility that vampires had a soul, this was the proof. It was one thing to learn the mechanics of an art – how to play an instrument, how to draw, how to mimic people. But to truly compose, create, act – he wondered if that was only the domain of creatures with a soul. Part of the God-image. He typically steered clear of such thoughts, but since, in playing something original, he was yet again baring his soul to the angel next to him, he let his mind ponder these 'higher' things, however briefly.

Alice became very still beside Jasper, and he realized she wasn't humming any more. "Alice?" When she didn't respond, Jasper put down the guitar and turned toward her. "Alice?!" he said more forcefully.

Slowly, her eyes came up to meet his. "Sorry," she said with a frown, and Jasper felt the flicker of fear that sparked to life in her.

"What is it?" he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I… I'm not sure, really. I can't get a good look. But…" Alice paused and attempted to look again. "I think something's coming."

"Here? Today?" Jasper asked, his own fear rising in response to hers.

She paused. "Mmm-no," she said finally, drawing out the word. "I can't… something is still undecided. It may be nothing," Alice added, trying to calm Jasper.

Jasper settled back against the wall and put an arm around Alice. He kissed her lightly on the head. "Okay," he said. He would have to find a way to get a handle on his emotions. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy the connection with Alice, but it wouldn't do for their fears to feed off each other, either. He needed to protect Alice, even if it was from himself, and if he had to cut off a limb to do it, he would. Gladly.

- - - - -

A/N - Thank you, again, to all who have read, reviewed, and even added my little story to your alerts. Thanks again reader13loves books, SWaddict1986, J., and Nenifer121 (welcome :) ). Also thank mom for the wonderful edits, encouragment, and being a sounding board. Thank you all. I love hearing from you.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Speed Bumps

Two months had passed since their first hunt together. Jasper's eyes had changed color to match Alice's and he became used to the new diet. They spent their nights hunting and exploring, and their days resting in abandoned cabins and ranger stations, as they traveled up and down the Appalachian mountain range. They'd settled into a comfortable routine in which they'd talk for a while, then Jasper would played the guitar while Alice drew images of her visions - something Jasper prompted her to do. Jasper was content. More than content, he was happy.

So toward the end of that second month, when he was running through the forest hunting, feeling like Icarus flying over the water, he should have known something bad was coming.

He and Alice had been running side by side, but she veered to take out a large buck. She had nodded to him to continue going, knowing he had locked on to the scent of a black bear to the northeast of them. As he ran, the breeze shifted and brought with it a different, much more tantalizing scent. He wasn't consciously aware of changing course, running completely on instinct. He just knew that part of him was excited that the burn, which was never completely smothered by the blood of animals, was going to be sated.

It wasn't long before he came across the small camp. It was a warm evening, and the two experienced campers didn't even have a tent; they slept under the stars. That suited Jasper just fine. He grabbed the closest male so quickly, the man didn't have a chance to scream before Jasper's teeth sunk into his throat. The only sound that escaped was a choked, wet gurgle.

And suddenly Jasper wasn't flying anymore. He was falling. He'd let himself trust in the safety of his wings, but in the fire of thirst, the wax had melted and now he was just tumbling, careening toward a too-familiar abyss.

The part of his mind that wasn't consumed by thirst and emotion, watched as Alice arrived. Without a second look, Alice knelt next to the other, still sleeping camper, and closed her small hand around his neck. She kept it there until she was sure he wouldn't awaken, though his heart still beat. At the same time, Jasper finished. Repelled by his own actions, he threw himself out of the firelight and into the shadowy cover of the surrounding trees. He watched Alice as she worked methodically to cover their tracks.

She picked up the dead man - a sight that, under any other circumstance, would have been amusing because he was nearly twice her size – and carried him over to the nearby creek. She set his feet in the water and, holding him up with one hand, she used the other to lower his pants. Then she reached up and used a fingernail to cut the man's forehead before laying him face down in the shallow water.

It wasn't perfect, and she knew if anyone looked too closely they would figure out that the accident was staged; but even if they did, nothing would lead back to them. No one even knew they were there.

She walked over to Jasper, who looked more stunned than anything, and reached for his hand. The moment their skin made contact, Jasper jerked his hand away and stumbled back a few steps.

Alice reached for him again, but stopped short of touching him. "Jasper, we have to go," she said quietly, but urgently.

Jasper moved in slow motion, turning his head toward Alice, seeming to see her for the first time in front of him. He gave her a small nod, and the two ran back to her car.

They drove in silence, Jasper neither knowing nor caring where Alice was going as he stared out the window, lost in his own thoughts. After some time, Alice pulled to a stop in front of one of the abandoned cabins they had used in the past. They sat in the car, neither moving, until Alice could no longer take the silence. Though she had searched the future several times during their drive to the cabin and never saw it change, she couldn't stop the worried feeling that Jasper was going to leave, that he blamed her for not warning him. What scared her the most was that she couldn't feel anything from him, despite the obvious turmoil he was in.

"Jasper?" Alice called to him quietly. He turned his head so that he was looking down, either at the dash or the floor, Alice couldn't tell. "Are you… leaving?" She could barely get the word out, and she knew her voice trembled when she spoke.

Jasper shifted in his seat and his frown deepened. "Is that what you see?"

Alice tilted her head, concentrating, trying to see the future yet again. For a moment, the images flickered and she thought she saw Jasper walk away, but it was so quick and blurred that she wasn't sure. But then the future she always saw slid back into place. "Not really, no."

Jasper could feel several emotions flowing from Alice. Though he could feel her disappointment, frustration, and sorrow, he couldn't begin to know what she was actually thinking, and he could only come to his own conclusions. He cleared his throat. "Do you want me to?"

"What?!"

Jasper felt the genuine surprise and hurt, which was what finally made him look up at her, very conscious that his eyes were back to the red he'd had before they first met. In fact, everything felt like it had before they met, except now everything seemed darker, like when you first turn off the lights and the room goes black. Alice had been his light and suddenly everything was black.

"Why would you think that?" Alice asked.

"I can feel what you're feeling, remember? I know you're frustrated, and disappointed…" His voice trailed off into silence.

"Oh Jasper," Alice responded. She moved too quickly to see and Jasper's lap was suddenly filled with Alice. She put her hand under his chin so he would have to look at her. "I am disappointed."

Jasper, who had tensed at her sudden movement and still hadn't quite relaxed yet, pulled his head from her grasp and looked away.

Alice pulled his face back around to her. "Let me finish," she said, and waited until he was looking at her again. "I am disappointed, because I didn't see this coming fast enough to stop it." Jasper huffed, but she continued. "And I am frustrated because… too often my visions have done nothing to protect the people I love. And, though I can't see you leaving me, everyone else I've ever loved has eventually left me. I… failed you and I wouldn't blame you for leaving."

Much to Alice's surprise, Jasper actually laughed at this. Frowning, she said, rather angrily, "What?!"

Jasper shook his head. "I… kill a human. You miraculously show up in time to prevent a second death and then proceed to cover _my_ crime. And you think I'm going to leave because somehow _you_ failed _me_?"

"I…" Alice thought for a moment, then smiled. "Well, when you put it that way, I am pretty boss." They smiled at each other, but the moment of levity passed, and Alice asked, "Then what were you thinking?"

Jasper breathed in and out, deeply, before answering. "I thought you were disappointed in me, and frustrated by my complete lack of control. I…"

Alice cut him off, holding up her finger to make him wait. "You know that it is nearly impossible for one of us to stop a hunt once we've started. I don't even know if Edward could have broken off."

Jasper clenched his jaw for a second before continuing. "Maybe. And _you_… you couldn't have predicted something that I hadn't even consciously decided. So, don't be too disappointed with yourself."

Alice nodded. "Okay, deal. Neither of us should feel disappointed. What else were you thinking?"

Jasper thought, trying to find words for what he was thinking and feeling. "I'd… forgotten what it was like to kill a human," he said, his voice low. "Everything… everything I used to feel, came rushing back."

Alice waited for more of an explanation, but Jasper offered none. She settled for snuggling in to his embrace, nuzzling his neck, and trying to decide if she wanted to ask the question that had been bothering her for some time but, until tonight, hadn't been something she could confirm. Finally, she began, "Jasper?"

"Hmm?" He had relaxed and was resting his head on hers, though he could feel new uncertainty developing in Alice's emotions.

"When we first met, I could… feel you. I could feel what you were feeling, right?"

"Yes." He knew where the question was going. He didn't have to be able to see the future for that, but he needed time to come up with an answer that wouldn't hurt Alice.

"Why can't I feel you anymore?"

"You can see the future, Alice…"

"Yes, but you don't know what you're going to say, yet, so I don't know either."

Jasper jostled Alice playfully. "Let me finish," he said, and Alice could feel him smile into her hair. "You can see the future and it… it can be helpful. But there are times it's a burden, too. Right?"

Alice nodded against his neck.

"My being able to feel others' emotions – all the time… It's the same way. There are times it can be useful. But sometimes it's just a burden." Alice tensed and began to lift her head, but Jasper kept his in place, preventing her from escaping. "I _love_ feeling your emotions. You have no idea…" Jasper smiled and breathed deeply. Even her scent was warm and inviting. "But trust me when I say, you don't always want to feel mine."

"That's not fair," Alice complained.

Jasper shook his head. "No, you don't understand." He thought for a way to explain to her. "Do you remember our first night after the hunt and you had a vision that frightened you?" Alice nodded. "My first reaction was fear for you. A need to protect you." Alice nodded again, remembering the feelings they had shared. "It's not always easy to differentiate between my own emotions and those around me. I can only imagine how much harder it would be for you, because you're not used to my… gift." He paused, letting this sink in. "Now, imagine your fear, mixing with mine. The fear doesn't just double. It grows exponentially. You felt what happened that first night… Our emotions fed off each other. I just…" He wasn't sure if he was making sense or if she understood. Explaining the 'whys' of things had never been his forte. "You carry so much already. I don't want to add to it. I don't want to be… more of a burden."

Alice lifted her head so she could look Jasper in the eye. "So it's not because you're tired of me or want to leave?"

Jasper laughed out loud again. He put his hands on either side of her face. "As if I could." He kissed her lightly. "Not in a million years." As if to prove it, he dropped his guard and let his joy, amusement, and love wash over her and reassure her that he would never think of leaving.

Alice smiled contentedly and rested her head back on his shoulder.

It rained that evening as they headed toward a gas station, wanting to fill the tank before heading north for the summer. The campgrounds through which they drove were unusually crowded, especially for the rain. Jasper watched the families as they set up camp and chatted with their neighbors. He had become so used to the solitude of just the two of them that the sea of emotions was making him uncomfortable. Fortunately, most of the emotions were pleasant.

"Memorial Day weekend," Alice said, offering an explanation for the crowd.

It was good that they were leaving. By now the body had surely been discovered, but the crowds would make it difficult to investigate thoroughly. They could see, in the distance, a police cruiser waiting at the entrance to the park, stopping and questioning those who were leaving. Alice pulled the car over to one of the few public restrooms.

"You go. I'll meet you on the road."

Jasper understood at once. If they were stopped, his red eyes would have been hard to hide. Despite the overcast and rainy evening, it was still light enough for even a human to notice the color. He opened the car door and was immediately hit by a wave of smells, most predominant of which was the many warm-blooded humans, and though he had just fed the previous night, it was still difficult to resist the smell. His throat burned and he had to hold his breath for a moment to steady himself. At the same time, Alice's hand shot out and grabbed his arm.

He was oddly comforted by the desire he felt coming from Alice. She had gone much longer without feeding on a human, and her desire for their blood was still strong.

They stared at each other for a moment before Alice smiled sheepishly. "It's been so long," she said quietly.

Jasper nodded and grinned back. He leaned quickly across the seat and kissed her, pulling away much too soon for either of them. "I'll meet you on the other side… Go!" he said. He didn't want to keep Alice in the midst of this temptation any longer than she had to be. He could feel the same concern coming from her for him.

He stepped from the car, then turned back and repeated, "Go. I'll be fine."

Alice looked into the future for the briefest glimpse before smiling and nodding back at Jasper.

As Alice drove off, Jasper made his way, as quickly as was humanly possible, to the edge of the campgrounds before breaking into a sprint. He didn't slow down until the emotions and scents began to fade, all the while heading toward the road.

He made it there before Alice, so he started walking slowly back toward the campgrounds, following the road. It wasn't long before he saw the familiar red Corvette.

As he got into the car, Alice sighed. "You're going to ruin the leather," she teased.

"Well," Jasper countered. "That's what you get for picking up strange men wondering the roads at night."

"Yeah, but it's raining and I felt bad for him."

At the gas station, they waited as the attendant filled the tank.

"I think we should be around humans more," Alice said conversationally. Jasper continued to people watch, giving no indication he'd heard Alice, so she continued. "It might be less tempting if we were used to the smell."

"Maybe," Jasper replied noncommittally. There were a several reasons he didn't fancy the idea of spending more time around people. First of all, it was harder to hunt animals in populated areas. That one was obvious. But he wondered, after their experience at the crowded campsite, if it would matter how well-fed he was; humans would always be more tempting and would always elicit the same reaction from him. Or, perhaps, they had been more tempting this afternoon _because_ of his mis-step last night – the taste was still fresh on his mind.

But mostly, it was because he simply didn't like crowds anymore. There had been a time, when he was human, that he loved crowds. He was often the center of attention and loved the reactions he could elicit in others. Now, however, crowds were… difficult… and he wanted to be able to stay out of the limelight. Emotions were strong enough when they weren't directed at him. It was much worse when they were. And this was in addition to the fact that he just wasn't used to the positive emotions that seemed to always surround Alice. He was much more expectant and sensitive to the negative.

He supposed, though, that he would have to get used to people at some time. From what Alice had told him, the Cullens actually lived among the humans. He couldn't completely comprehend why but, he figured, it would be necessary to maintain a human façade if they stayed in one place for any length of time, unlike the nomadic wanderers or the southerners.

And then there was Alice. In the two months they'd been together, she'd never once complained about the isolation. He could feel her contentment. She genuinely enjoyed his company. But there were those times when she had visions of the Cullens and, though she didn't say anything, he could feel the excitement, anticipation, and love that flowed from her at those times. She already considered them family and missed not being with them. Alice was, by nature, gregarious, and Jasper wondered if she might eventually come to resent their isolation.

He reached over and brushed her cheek before taking hold of her hand. "You've been to Lake Champlain before, correct?"

"Yes," Alice answered.

"How much do you know about its history?"

Alice smiled at Jasper. "Tell me."

Jasper smiled back. He could tell by the way she answered that she had either learned the history for herself during past visits, or she had foreseen this conversation. Either way, her emotions were open, content, and relieved. As he began regaling her with the history of the area, they both knew the conversation would turn to the small towns on the Lake's shores. It was Jasper's way of accepting her suggestion.

Lake Champlain was on the eastern border of the Adirondack Mountains in Adirondack Park. It was one of the largest national parks in northeastern United States, offering plenty of hunting ground, as well as a few small towns.

They found an abandoned cabin near the town of Crown Point and decided to remain there for a while. Alice found a small boutique in that town that was surprisingly well stocked with the latest fashions. Between the naturalists who came through the town during their exploration of the Adirondacks, and the history buffs and tourists who came to view the small museum and Revolutionary War reenactments, there was enough constant business to keep the shop up to date. That's when Jasper learned of Alice's love for shopping and fashion. He even encouraged her to create some of her own designs, as she had developed quite a flare for drawing.

During one of their trips to town, Alice and Jasper decided to split up for a few hours so he could run a few errands while Alice shopped.

Although Jasper had driven into town, he left the car with Alice, figuring she could put her purchases right in the trunk. He took a large bag of their "old" clothes to the local thrift store. He also needed to stop by the DMV to take his written test for his driver's license. Alice found this incredibly amusing, but, really – what need had he ever had for a license before now? In Mexico, he didn't need a license to drive (the vampires there didn't care about such formalities); it simply wasn't a priority at the time. And as a nomad, he'd never used a car. They could travel much faster on foot than in a car, so why bother with one?

Despite the fact that they both hunted the night before, walking through the streets of even this small town was a challenge. It seemed to Jasper that he could be bloated with animal blood and still the scent of even a single human would start the venom flowing and his muscles would tense in preparation for the hunt. It was something he'd never had to worry about in Mexicali. He'd gained enough status with Maria that he'd been allowed to feed at will, as long as the human's remained in the dark.

He expended a lot of energy distracting himself. It was easy during the written test. There were few people around and he could concentrate (a little harder than he actually needed) to answer the questions.

Afterward, as he walked down the street, he passed a small gift shop and an item in the window caught his eye. It was a rather large and gaudy ring. The ring itself was ugly, in his opinion, but it made him curious to see what else the store had in stock.

Jasper had thought about marrying Alice from the day they'd met, but there were many things that kept him from asking her – not the least of which was how she would react if he'd proposed after knowing her for mere hours. He realized later how silly that would have sounded to Alice since, in her mind, she'd "known" him for years.

Then he didn't ask because he wanted to surprise her, but how was he supposed to surprise a seer – especially one that was attuned to him?

Alice never mentioned it, and Jasper didn't know if it was because she didn't want to pressure him or if it was because she considered the whole marriage concept unnecessary for vampires. After all, mates were for life and vampires already lived so far out of the norm of what was socially expected or accepted, did they really need to follow this tradition? But again, with time, he came to realize this probably wasn't true for Alice. Marriage did mean something to her because, despite all the time they spent together and despite their obvious love for each other, they'd remained abstinent.

So for reasons he couldn't decipher, except that he was trying hard not to think about biting the nearest human, today seemed like a good day to look at rings. Jasper wasn't sure what he'd do if he found a ring. He didn't have any money. Alice had always provided everything they needed on those rare instances when they needed anything – like gas. While he supposed this should bother him (according to the typical American man), he had been trained differently - not when he was human, but as a vampire. Anything they didn't steal, Maria provided. She ruled her city and divvied out the spoils as she saw fit – whether material goods or humans. So Jasper had never before been bothered by this role reversal.

Now, however, as he looked at a few of the rings on display, he began to wonder what, exactly, it was that he had to offer Alice.

"Can I help you?" The voice of the grandmotherly-looking clerk came from behind Jasper.

He turned. He'd been so preoccupied by his thoughts, he'd managed to ignore the burning in his throat that flared every time he set foot in this town. But now, in such close proximity to the store clerk, he couldn't push the thirst from his mind. He would have sighed, but that would have required unnecessary breathing. Instead, he smiled slightly and said, "No. I'm just looking."

Jasper was about to turn away when the woman persisted. "Looking for anyone in particular?" She had obviously noticed he was focusing on rings.

"Yes, but…" He wasn't really sure how to explain his relationship with Alice, or his hesitancy. He'd never used the word "girlfriend" to describe her. In fact, it had never even crossed his mind, as it didn't seem to adequately convey what she was. The word seemed so juvenile. "She's… She's my future." Jasper smiled wistfully.

The clerk, surprisingly, smiled back. She was unusually at ease around Jasper. "And… you're looking for a way to make it official."

Jasper thought about this assumption for a moment. "Yes."

"Well," the clerk looked around, frowning slightly. "What does she like? I'm afraid my selection's not very good – not for engagement rings, anyway."

Jasper blinked. _Engagement_. He was smiling again, probably staring goofily at the clerk, not immediately realizing she was waiting for a response. "Oh! Uh…" Jasper tried to think of the jewelry Alice wore. She didn't wear much, but what she did wear accessorized her outfit in such a way that it was part of the whole, never standing out as a statement of wealth or prestige. "Simple?" Jasper offered, not really sure if that was the correct word.

"Hmm…" The clerk pulled out a tray of rings from the display case. Though some of them were quite lovely, none of them struck Jasper as quite right. He wondered briefly if that was because he was a guy with no concept of what good jewelry was supposed to look like.

"No." Jasper looked at each ring but he felt that the clerk was suddenly feeling put out. He realized he'd probably reacted too quickly for a human. "Sorry," he offered quietly.

"Well, let's try these." The clerk pulled out a small tray and moved it to the side as it was in the way of the one she wanted.

"Wait," Jasper said suddenly. There was a ring in that tray that caught his attention. It was made of both yellow and white gold, pulled into delicate strands and weaved together so that it was impossible to tell where one strand ended and another began. The pattern formed a sort of intricate convex web that pulled together at both sides to create the band. The band itself was white gold, surrounded, held, by the yellow. "That's the one."

The clerk was briefly irritated. She was not going to sell one of her expensive diamonds today; but as she picked up the fragile looking ring and handed it to Jasper, he could feel her approval. "It is a lovely ring."

Jasper held the delicate woven metal between his thumb and forefinger. "How much is it?"

The clerk gave a price and Jasper thought hard about how he would get the money to pay for it. He could easily have stolen it, but didn't want to dirty this symbol of the one pure thing in his life. As he thought, he remembered something Alice had told him when they first met and it gave him an idea.

He handed the ring back to the clerk. "I'll be right back," he said, before rushing out the door.

There was a pawn shop next to the thrift store in town and one of the only things Jasper owned was actually worth some money. He popped the trunk of the car and pulled out his Martin. He was a little saddened to be pawning it, but he thought Alice would understand. She'd expected him to lose the guitar at some point anyway.

The pawn shop owner was not immediately accommodating, but solid knowledge of the item he was trying to pawn and a little intimidation went a long way in getting the best deal he could for the guitar, and Jasper walked out satisfied with the exchange. He headed to the gift shop and bought the ring. With it safely tucked in his pocket, he went back to the car to wait for Alice.

She walked out of the boutique and saw him leaning nonchalantly against the car. Her arms were laden with bags and she was grinning from ear to ear.

_Damn_, Jasper thought. She knew. Well he might not be able to surprise her, but he could make her wait – something she hated to do. He could feel the barely contained joy and excitement radiating off of her. She was having a hard time maintaining the human façade of a woman laden with bags of clothes.

Jasper, ever the gentleman, stood and relieved her of her booty. As soon as her arms were free, she threw them around his neck.

"Thank you!" she said somewhat breathlessly.

"Wow," Jasper teased. "I should carry your bags more often."

Alice tsked and slapped his chest. "You always do and that's not what I meant… and you know it." She opened the trunk and Jasper unloaded the bags into the back. After she closed the trunk, she turned to him. "So?"

"What?" Jasper asked innocently.

"I want to see it," Alice said, so excited she was bouncing.

"See what?"

Her eyes narrowed. "You're going to make me wait, aren't you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Jasper couldn't help but smirk as he headed for the driver's side and slid into the car. He could hear her huff and felt her frustration. "Fine," she said indignantly. When she got in the car, she crossed her arms like a petulant teenager and glared out the window as they headed back to the cabin.

Halfway there, Alice said, "You know I know."

Jasper only smiled.

"I hate waiting," she mumbled.

Jasper actually laughed at this. "You should be used to it by now. Look how long you had to wait for me."

"Yeah, well. Just because I had to doesn't mean I liked it."

"And you're waiting for the Cullens."

Alice glanced at Jasper, but said nothing. Her emotions confirmed what he already knew about her desire to be with the Cullens now.

Jasper sighed. He turned off the main road onto a narrow dirt road he and Alice had discovered while exploring the area. It was a seldom-used overlook with a beautiful view of the lake and mountains. They drove in silence until he parked. He turned in his seat so he could look more fully at her.

"Alice, what is our wedding going to be like?"

Jasper felt an unexpected play of emotions. Alice had thrilled at the words "our wedding," but this was almost immediately subdued by sadness and hurt.

"I don't know," she whispered. "I can't see it."

This revelation surprised Jasper and he understood, now, her hurt. Ignoring the implications of this lack of a vision, he asked, "What do you want the wedding to be like?"

Alice gave a small smile. "Us and the rest of the family, gathered at a little church, maybe. Carlisle would do the ceremony if we asked. But… I also want him to give me away…"

Jasper could see she didn't have any specific plans, but he was concerned by something. "If we got engaged today – right now – when would you want the wedding to take place?"

"As soon as possible," Alice said eagerly. But she amended her answer, "But not until you're ready, of course."

"For the wedding?" Jasper asked for clarification.

Alice fidgeted with her hands. "No, not the wedding. I know you want that right away, too. But ready to be with the Cullens."

Jasper nodded. "And… How long after… becoming part of their family would we get married?"

Alice stared up at Jasper. This wasn't something she'd ever considered. Certain things were a given for her. She knew the Cullens were family and she loved them as such. But she didn't consider how long it might take everyone else to build the relationships.

Keeping his voice calm and gentle, Jasper added quietly, "And whose name would you take?"

Alice had told him what she knew of their lives with the Cullens. She knew that, once they joined the family, he would take the surname Hale. It was part of the family history they would share with the humans with which they interacted. And in a way, it made him as officially part of the family as getting married would make his and Alice's relationship "official."

Alice didn't answer.

Jasper looked down at the space between them. "I don't want you to be unhappy. And… I want you to have the wedding of your dreams – whatever that entails. Truly. But…" Jasper frowned. Changing tack, he started again. "Look, I know I have nothing to offer you."

"Jasper," Alice tried to interrupt softly, but he continued speaking.

"I don't own anything. I have no money. Even the clothes I wear, you bought me. And really, I'm mostly okay with that – especially since I know you don't care about money or that I'm not… providing it." Jasper snorted. "If you did, you wouldn't be trudging all over creation taking shelter in rundown shacks and…" he paused, realizing he'd started rambling. "Well, anyway." He looked up and caught her eyes with his. "The only thing I do have, is my name. And I _want_ you to take it."

"Jazz," Alice tried again, but again Jasper kept going.

"I mean, not that I have anything against the Cullens. I don't. I just… I'd rather you be… Alice Whitlock…"

"Jasper!" Alice said more forcefully. "Do you really believe we are so unevenly matched?"

"Alice," Jasper said, his tone taking on the quality of one explaining something very obvious to another individual. "You are… perfect – for me – in every way. You are light and joy. You brought me out of a very dark place and… gave me hope. I don't know why you chose me, but I will never complain. And I'm certainly never going to let you go. But I still know I don't deserve you."

Jasper was confused by the wave of sadness and anger that hit him.

Alice raised her hand and gently touched his cheek. "Oh Jasper," she said, her voice full of emotion. A sad smile graced her lips. "You don't see you the way I do." She lowered her hand to grasp his. "I never, in my life, have been without love. I may have awakened up alone in one sense, but in another, I've never been alone. You have always been there. No matter where I was or what I'd done. You were there, looking at me with eyes full of love. You kept me sane. Because of you, I'm alive. From what you've told me, I'm pretty sure that without you, the Volturi would have killed me for being an out-of-control newborn. And, sure, the Cullens have been there, too. They showed me a better way to live and feed. But you…" Alice closed her eyes and shook her head. She took a deep breath before opening them and looking into her mate's eyes. "I owe you my life. My love you get for free. How could I be loved like you love me and not end up better for it? And not love you in return? You think I gave you a future. Mine… this," she waved her free hand between them. "It never would have happened without you. We are _not_ unevenly matched. I am not deserving of more than you. What more is there? You have no idea…"

Her words trailed off. She had nothing more to express with words. But she felt strongly and deeply and knew Jasper would be able to feel it too.

As they sat in the car, absorbing each others words and feelings, their hands still locked together, love filled the car and cocooned them as only love can – healing old wounds, strengthening bonds, pulling them closer, and keeping them safe, enabling them to be blatantly and embarrassingly honest without fear of judgment. They both held the other in higher esteem than themselves, thus raising them both up higher than either could have gone on their own.

After some time, Alice smirked, "So… Do I get to see the ring now?"

Jasper laughed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the little box. "This wasn't exactly now I imagined it."

"Me either," Alice said, making them both laugh.

"Alice Cullen, will you marry me?"

Alice squealed in delight and threw herself into his arms, ignoring the steering wheel that made their position cramped and awkward. "Yes!" she answered enthusiastically before kissing him happily on the lips. She resituated herself, sitting sideways on his lap, and opened the box.

Jasper picked the delicate ring out of the box and slid it on her finger. "Do you like it?"

She held her hand at arm's length so she could get a good look at it. "I love it!" she said, still smiling. She rested her head on his shoulder and put her hand on his chest, still watching as the light caught the ring, making it glisten, despite there being no gem attached. "Mrs. Jasper Whitlock," she said musingly.

Jasper could feel her joy and pride and overwhelming love, and the genuineness of her emotions at hearing her refer to herself with his name sent a ripple of the same joy and pride and love through him. He hugged her tightly and kissed the top of her head. Then he raised her face with his hand so he could capture her lips with his.

"Thank you," he whispered a minute later, as Alice rested her head back on his chest. He felt her smile. He didn't care, right now, when they got married. The details could be worked out later. It was enough to know that she would be his in an equal pairing of love and respect and commitment.

- - - - -

A/N – Wow! Quite the chick-flick moment, there... Anyway, on to business. :D I've never been to Crown Point – and certainly not in the fifties – so I have no idea if they have Revolutionary War reenactments. I apologize if anyone is offended by my lack of research.

Also, I realize that when Jasper proposes to Alice, he calls her Alice Cullen. I figure that at that time, they did not yet know her last name (I don't think it's ever stated if she knew her full name or not before James' revelation). She already considered the Cullens family and Jasper knew she would take their name, so he used that one. It was out of respect for her.

Thanks again reader13loves books, cjay03 (welcome), J., Nenifer121, and SWaddict1986! Thank you also to those who have added this story to your favorites and/or alerts! And, of course, thanks mom for all the love and help.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 - Darkness

Darkness. Impenetrable, total darkness. That was all Alice could see. It was so consuming, she couldn't see anything beyond the vision. That had been bad enough to nearly make her panic, but then she realized she couldn't move. Being bound in the dark sent an irrational fear through her that froze her entire being. She couldn't think; she couldn't move; she couldn't concentrate enough to realize this was just a vision.

It wasn't until a small burst of warm air hit her face that Alice blinked and looked up into the very concerned eyes of her fiancé. At the same time, she could feel the calm settling over her, forcing back the dark fear that had held her in place. "Wha…?" she started to ask, but her legs gave out from under her and she was falling.

- - - - -

Jasper had been walking next to Alice when she suddenly froze. She did that sometimes when a vision was particularly vivid, and this concerned him only in that vivid visions usually meant imminent timing. But then the wave of panic hit him so strongly, he was nearly paralyzed. It took all his concentration and focus to separate himself from the emotion that was not his own. He immediately turned and grabbed her by the shoulders. Her whole body was trembling.

"Alice?" he called gently. When she didn't respond, he gave her a little shake. "Alice!" She was in far too deep and the fear rolling off of her was so suffocating, that he wondered for the first time if she could get lost in the future. He decided to try something he'd seen a human mother do to interrupt a child's tantrum. He blew a quick puff of air on her face. At the same time, he used the full force of his empathic control to immerse her in calmness.

This seemed to work because she blinked when the air hit her and looked up at him. The tortured expression in her eyes made him move his hands from her shoulders. He reached for her face instead, to cradle her head and smooth her too tight expression, but in the second he released her, she collapsed. He caught her before she hit the ground and lifted her, bridal style, into his strong arms. He continued to comfort her the best way he knew how.

He sat on the ground, right where they were in the middle of the forest, rocking her slightly and listening as her breathing slowed. After a minute, he asked, "Alice? What happened?"

"I don't know," she said, her voice trembling.

"What did you see?" he tried again.

"Nothing," Alice answered, and this time her voice was stronger, laced with anger and frustration.

Jasper frowned, not understanding why she would try to hide from him what she saw. "Alice?"

She chuckled shakily, "It's stupid. I'm sorry, Jazz. It wasn't even a firm vision. I don't know why I reacted so."

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't see anything. It was just black. Like whatever might happen isn't settled yet."

Jasper thought about this for a moment, as he realized her earlier answer of "nothing" was literal. "Was it a shadowed vision of the future or were you seeing black… as if you were blind?"

Alice frowned. "I…" She thought about what Jasper was saying. She had originally thought that the vision was incomplete, but now as she examined the memory, she wondered if she was actually seeing darkness. "I think I might have been seeing blackness…er, not seeing. However you want to say it."

Jasper held her more tightly as residual fear started to creep back into her emotions.

"Jasper..." Alice lifted her head from his shoulder. "I couldn't feel anything either."

"I thought you didn't feel what was going on in a vision."

"No. When I'm watching what is happening to someone else, I'm just an observer. When it is I… I experience whatever I'm experiencing at the moment. And at that moment, I couldn't see and I couldn't feel. It was as if I was floating in the dark, unable to move my own body." She shivered in Jasper's arms at the recollection.

"What else do you remember?" Jasper asked quietly.

"Nothing!" Alice said desperately. "I couldn't see. I couldn't feel. I didn't hear anything. I don't remember smelling anything…"

By this point in her list, she had pressed her forehead against Jasper's chest and her hands were fisted in his shirt. The panic was rising again and Jasper almost didn't hear her last statement, it was said so quietly. "You weren't there."

"Shhh." Jasper tried to calm her again, both with his ability and simply by his physical presence. "I'm here now."

"But you weren't!" Alice said, looking up at him in desperation. Had she been able to, Jasper was sure she would have had tears streaming down her cheeks. He brushed her cheek with his thumb as if wiping away a tear.

"Has the future changed? Will we not be together – with the Cullens?" Jasper asked gently.

Alice's vision turned inward as she searched for the answer to his question. "I don't know. I can't see that far. What if it's changed? What if…" she couldn't bring herself to finish the question.

"Listen to me." He put his hands firmly on either side of her face to steady her and make her look in his eyes. "I will never leave you," Jasper said assuredly. "I promise."

"I'm scared," she whispered.

"I know." He smiled kindly. Jasper took a deep breath and released her face, only to grab hold of her hands. "Alice, I need you to do something for me." She nodded her head and her eyes were so full of trust, that Jasper felt his heart ache. He was torn between not wanting to hurt her and the need to be prepared – the need to find a way to protect her. "I want you to listen to the sound of my voice." He watched as Alice gave him a small loving smile, but he could feel her nervousness rising. "I am here and I will not leave you. Okay?" He tried to assure her, making his voice as soothing as possible.

Alice nodded again.

"Okay. I want you to remember your vision."

Alice closed her eyes and began to shake her head, but Jasper spoke again, and her eyes opened. "I know you're afraid. But I'm here, remember? Feel this?" He raised their intertwined fingers so she could see and feel the physical evidence of his presence. "I'll be with you the whole time."

Alice closed her eyes again and took a deep breath. As she did, Jasper pushed out more calm to envelop her.

"I can't see anything," she said, her voice already coming at a higher pitch.

"I know. We know that. What do you smell?"

"I… can't… move," she said as if she was actually struggling to move, though she remained perfectly still. Her breathing increased. "I can't," she shook her head.

"Yes you can," Jasper assured her, sending more calm, trying to keep up with the pace of her escalating fear. "I'm still here. You are not alone. But I need you to focus." He let his words sink in before continuing. "Don't try to move. Just be still and breathe."

A quiet sob escaped her lips, but she held tighter to Jasper's hands and her brow furrowed in concentration. "It smells musty. No. Moldy. Like old wet concrete and something organic, grainy. And there's the odor of decay – dead animals."

"Very good," Jasper encouraged. "What do you hear?"

Alice cocked her head to the side. She shook her head. "Nothing distinct. I think… there's someone there. I can hear the footsteps, but… there's no heartbeat." With that, Alice opened her eyes. Jasper was smiling down at her, beaming with pride she could see, even if she couldn't have felt it.

He cupped her face with his hands. "You are the bravest person I know," he said, then kissed her.

Alice rolled her eyes, but smiled. "That's because I'm the only person you know," she said teasingly.

"You're the only person I _want_ to know. There's a difference."

"For now," Alice smiled.

Jasper shrugged. "For now," he agreed. His thoughts turned back to the vision. "Alice," Jasper said, serious again. "I am going to do everything I can to keep this from happening. But… if I can't. Look for me. Look to the future and you will find me. You won't be alone."

Alice placed her hand on his cheek. She smiled at him, accepting his words, but knowing that it was beyond his power to make that promise. If she found out that he wasn't with her because he'd been killed, she would also go to any lengths to prevent that future.

Over the next few days, Alice became obsessed with trying to understand the vision and glean as much information as possible from the darkness. Every day they found shelter in a new location, and every evening the floor of the shelter was covered in drawings, most of them nothing more than a solid black charcoal canvas.

Alice tried to look even just a few minutes before or a few minutes after the initial vision, though she was having difficulty since she didn't know the exact timing. But slowly glimpses of things were coming to her. It was as if the closer they got to the actual event, the more she was teased with half-developed shadows, sounds and voices. And every glimpse she got made her more obsessed, until she was even refusing to hunt.

At the end of the third day, Jasper had had enough. Alice had become annoyed by his constant calming because it took the edge off her determination. Jasper stood from his place at the cabin wall. He walked slowly over to Alice and crouched beside her. "Alice," he prodded tenderly.

Alice froze. The charcoal she'd been holding dropped from her hand and she stared blindly at the cave floor. Jasper could immediately feel the shift in her emotions. It was both relief, presumably at finding out some important piece of the puzzle, grief, that he couldn't begin to understand the reason behind, and a new surge of fear. Jasper reached out to take her now empty hand, but otherwise he waited for her to return to him.

Alice blinked and looked down at their joined hands before turning her eyes to his. "Ciaran," she whispered. "It's Ciaran, and he's not alone."

Jasper reached for Alice and pulled her to him. "Tell me," he commanded gently, but firmly. He did not like this new information. A vampire with a grudge was deadly and there was no doubt, after the story Alice had told him, that Ciaran would be looking for vengeance. Jasper only hoped that would make him sloppy.

"He's trying to rebuild his coven," Alice said, turning wide eyes on Jasper. "He has three newborns with him."

Jasper tensed, but otherwise said nothing. A thousand thoughts rushed through his head, but he kept silent. He would not add to Alice's fear. "He won't get near you."

"No," Alice shook her head, her fear growing. "He's not after me. He's after you."

"Good." Jasper actually felt relief at this revelation. He wasn't concerned about himself, as long as Alice was safe.

"'Good?!'" Alice said incredulously.

Jasper pulled back so he could look Alice in the eye. "Is this related to your vision of the darkness? Or is this something else?"

"It must be related, because I don't see the dark now. He's changed his mind. I don't think he knew about you before. But he's realized we're traveling together…" The words had started in a rush, but slowed until they trailed off.

"Alice?" Jasper felt another shift in her emotions – resolve. She had made some decision. "What are you thinking?"

Alice blinked. "I think… we need to move on. I'll hunt on the way."

"You do know the story of Oedipus, don't you?" Jasper asked, frowning again. Alice didn't answer. She was keeping something from him. He wasn't sure what it was, but he could guess. He knew what he'd do in this situation. He didn't argue, and instead helped her gather their things and put them in the car. "We should leave it," Jasper stated. "We travel faster on foot. When it's all clear, we can come back for it."

Alice looked longingly at her car, but after a moment she nodded.

"Alice..." Jasper took hold of her hands. "I love you," he said earnestly. "Please don't…" He couldn't bring himself to say, "don't leave" or "don't do anything stupid," so he settled on, "Just don't. We'll handle this together. Okay?"

He felt the chagrin of being caught pass through Alice, but there was still nervousness there. "Okay," she replied.

They headed south out of Adirondack Park Preserve, staying in the less populated areas. It wasn't until they were out of the park that Alice was ready to hunt. They waited, hoping to catch the scent of a few bears, but the farther from the park they traveled, the more populated the areas became. Jasper had just hunted the night before, so he was "content" with the buck he'd tracked down. As he was feeding, Alice indicated she'd caught a scent and headed east.

Jasper finished quickly, not liking Alice being out of his sight – not right now. As he tracked her, he became aware of the sound of rushing water. Cursing silently to himself, he picked up speed. He tracked Alice all the way to the Hudson… where she disappeared. Alice had obviously taken to the water and, without needing to come up for air, she could travel any distance up or down the river and resurface on either side. He thought briefly that he should be comforted by the fact that Ciaran was coming for him, but realized that would only push Alice toward Ciaran faster. And she would never survive – not against three newborns and a mature vampire strong enough to keep them in line. He had to find her. He didn't have a choice. He felt his future slipping from his fingers.

Jasper took a deep breath and cleared his head. He had to think logically about this. Alice couldn't see much in these recent visions, but she could smell. She had spoken of cement, mold, and grain. Grain meant farming and there wasn't much in the way of farming in Eastern New York. Unless Alice doubled back and went north, which he was discounting at the moment, she would have traveled south and exited on the western side of the river, so that was the direction Jasper took.

With each minute that passed, he felt his hope slip further away. He would travel the entire river north and south on both banks if that's what it would take to find her, but he was hoping his luck would hold. Forty miles north of the New York/New Jersey border, it did. He caught a whiff of Alice's scent. It was already fading. She had made good time in the water, aided, no doubt, by the river's current.

- - - - -

Alice was quickly approaching the vast farmlands of Pennsylvania. Its rolling green landscape was filled with the scents of cows, manure, chickens, and more pleasant things like the rich scent of tended fields of corn and wheat. She had been concentrating so hard on leaving Jasper behind, while still trying to follow her vision, that when she broke the tree line and stepped into the field, she didn't immediately see the shape looming ahead.

A sound coming from in front of her made her look up, and she saw for the first time the grain silo, located where the border of four farms met. Fear gripped her long dead heart, and she only had time to turn before a long metal rod pierced her body just below her sternum. The rod had been thrown with such force that Alice was lifted off the ground and came to a sudden stop as the rod pierced a tree behind her.

It was nearly impossible for her to breathe and, while she couldn't say she was in pain, exactly, this pinning held a torture of its own. She wriggled on the metal, trying in vain to dislodge herself, and realized that the pole had pierced her spine. Her legs hung uselessly, unable to provide her support or leverage. The feeling of being trapped settled on her and she began to panic.

She was only vaguely aware of the four vampires approaching her from the direction of the silo.

"Well, well, little seer," Ciaran's thickly accented voice called to her. Alice lifted her head, her eyes filled with terror. "And here, I expected more of a challenge. We were going to bait you with your new companion," he said, all the while coming closer. When he was within touching distance, he grabbed Alice's hand, almost kindly, and fingered the ring on her finger. "Your mate?" he said, his malicious smile growing wider. "Perfect." He turned to the newborns standing behind him, eagerly awaiting orders. "Lock her in the silo."

Alice's eyes grew infinitesimally wider. "No," she breathed, knowing her nightmare was about to unfold.

Vampires tend to think of themselves as better then humans. They're physically superior in every way, mentally unimpaired, with perfect recall and typically greater understanding, not to mention the capacity for a greater knowledge base; and then there are the few who are gifted beyond the norm and in ways humans can only dream. Their perspective on life tends to be broader, not limited to the seventy or so years of the typical human. But in reality, at their cores, they are more instinctual – more animalistic – than humans; at the very least, they are more sensual. Take away one of a vampire's senses and you end up with a very frustrated vampire. Take away more than that, and the vampire risks loss of sanity, not fully knowing how to function in a world where his senses guide everything, and everything centers around survival.

Locked inside the silo, where no light could enter, Alice lost her sense of sight and the darkness pressed on her with a near physical weight. Her sense of smell was negligible due to her breathing problems, and it felt to her like half of her body was missing. She was bound, trapped. Her sanity was slipping and she couldn't fathom that, deep in her subconscious, the basis of her irrational fears could be found in her previous life. Alice lost the ability to sense the passage of time. She had screamed, at first. Wailed. And cried out for Jasper, only to remember she'd intentionally left him behind. She felt completely isolated – truly alone for the first time in her life.

She had no idea how much time passed before she heard the sound of twisting metal. She became alert at once, fighting back the sobs that threatened to come again with the emergence of hope. Then there was silence again that dragged on far too long, and her hope began to flicker. For the first time, she remembered Jasper's words to look for him, and she did. And she could not hold back the sobs any longer when she saw his face before her, just moments before the heavy metal door of the silo opened and Jasper walked in. He was silhouetted by flames burning behind him and she knew the vampire standing guard outside was dead.

Jasper moved toward her quickly, his eyes taking in the sight of her, crying and pinned to a concrete wall. He was pushing out waves of comfort before he realized he'd decided to do it. But he refused to meet her eyes. He could not falter yet. This battle wasn't over. With all the gentleness of a mother with her newborn child, Jasper pulled Alice free of the spike. He carried her out of the silo and over to a corner of the field. There he laid her down and lifted her shirt, watching just long enough to make sure her wound was healing.

For all his care, there was a fury burning in his eyes and a coldness that Alice could feel even with his emotions cut off from her.

Jasper turned away and retrieved the metal spike from the silo wall. He placed himself between Alice and the same tree line from which she'd come. Soon three vampires emerged.

"Jasper, don't," she pleaded. She just wanted to run. She even thought she could manage it and she got to her feet.

Jasper gave her the briefest glance before stepping forward. He bowed his head in concentration and, the moment he raised it again, the two newborns flanking Ciaran fell to the ground screaming.

Jasper remembered exactly how the paralyzing terror felt to Alice. It was one of the strongest emotions he'd ever felt, this phobia of hers; it was how he'd tracked her so quickly. As soon as he'd gotten near the Pennsylvania border, he had been both called and driven forward by her emotions. He flung the fear with all his might to the already unstable newborns, knowing it would drop them to the ground, rendering them useless for the time being.

Jasper walked forward to meet Ciaran, who, he was satisfied to see, now had a healthy dose of fear in his eyes at seeing his guard taken out of commission. Jasper didn't normally fight with a weapon; vampires didn't have a need for it. But as part of his training, he'd learned weapons styles anyway. He wielded the metal spike expertly, like a staff. Ciaran couldn't get close enough to do Jasper any damage, the staff easily deflecting Ciaran's blows and holding him at bay. Jasper lunged, and the staff pierced Ciaran's shoulder, dropping the vampire to the ground, his body reacting despite the lack of actual pain. Jasper pulled the staff free and slammed it against Ciaran's head, knocking him to the side.

He actually took a step back, waiting for Ciaran to get unsteadily to his feet. Ciaran fought with more desperation, realizing he was no match for the war veteran. Jasper lunged again, stabbing him through the leg, taking no care in jerking it free as Ciaran's legs again gave out from under him. He was on his knees when Jasper swung the rod over his head and brought it down with full force against Ciaran's back. Then Jasper pinned him with the rod, as Ciaran had pinned Alice. The metal pierced Ciaran's neck, paralyzing his entire body and locking him in place.

With Ciaran temporarily out of the way, Jasper turned his attention back to the newborns. This was an all too familiar battle, and Alice saw first-hand how Jasper had become Maria's right hand. It took mere seconds for him to dispatch the first newborn. As he set fire to the torso, adding the rest of the pieces to the blaze, the last newborn had broken free and was heading toward Alice.

Jasper watched in awe as a ballet unfolded before him. The dancers – the newborn and his Alice – moved with such timing, and Alice with such grace, it was as if the fight had been choreographed. Alice turned, ducked, leapt and spun, avoiding one attack after another, until she confused the newborn enough to create an opening. Quick as a viper she went for the neck, tearing away the fleshy part, and the vampire fell to his knees, gurgling. The frustration and rage quickly turned to fear, as the newborn realized he was vulnerable. Then Jasper was there, helping her finish off the newborn. He felt her remorse, mingled with her fear. She had never raised a hand to another vampire before. She'd never had to. But he also felt her satisfaction and anger.

Jasper tossed Alice his lighter, letting her set this vampire ablaze while he stalked back to the pinned Ciaran.

He squatted down next to the vampire and growled. "You're lucky you didn't kill her. I would have burned you a piece at a time for a hundred years… But you did hurt her."

Jasper pulled the spike out of his neck and kicked Ciaran over with his foot so he was face up. Then Jasper slammed the rod through the old vampire's heart. "You will feel everything."

Alice tossed the lighter back to Jasper and he lit Ciaran on fire. Ciaran's spine had healed, allowing him to feel, and Jasper didn't bother dismembering him first. Ciaran knew he was defeated and looked forward to the death – the end of his empty years. In spite of that desire, the pain was unbearable and he eventually cried out.

Jasper watched, absorbing the emotions, feeling gratified, for the moment, by the suffering of another. It fed the monster within and for a moment he embraced it.

- - - - -

A/N – Thanks again to all who have read, reviewed, and added this story to your favorites and/or alerts. Thank you! Thanks to reader13lovesbooks, monko25 (welcome), cjay03, Nenifer121, SWaddict1986, Tiontah (welcome), and J.. Thanks for taking time to let me know what you think. Thank you also to my ever faithful and encouraging editor, Mom. Love ya.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – Light

The flames continued to burn long after the corpse was able to feel, but Jasper stood still and silent. With the pain and anguish gone, he was left to deal with Alice's emotions. He could feel her fear, anger, even the excitement of victory. It was funny how much easier it was for him to sort out other's emotions than his own.

It wasn't until he felt her hand on his arm that he finally moved. Turning to face her, he said in a barely audible voice, "You left." Alice just stared up at him. "You promised. And you left anyway." His anger was pushed to the fore because it was the safest emotion at the moment. "I told you we could handle this together. Even Maria trusted me…"

He half expected the slap that interrupted his statement. At least, he was less surprised by it than Alice. He'd felt the flash of anger and hurt the instant before her hand flew. He even knew he deserved it. He closed his eyes and lowered his head as Alice moved away to the tree line. She wasn't leaving, just putting distance between them. It was a purely symbolic act, and Jasper didn't stop her. In all his time with Maria – with all she'd done to him - he never once tried to hurt her. Yet he'd lashed out at Alice, trying to hurt her on some level as she had hurt him. With all he'd done tonight, the viciousness of the fighting, even the prolonging of Ciaran's pain and death for his own grim satisfaction, nothing he'd done he regretted – until he'd uttered that last statement.

He pressed his eyes wearily and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," he whispered, knowing she'd hear despite the distance. "That was mean – and not entirely true."

Alice walked back over to him. Her hands were on her hips, the firelight emphasizing the anger still burning in her eyes. "I did what I did to keep you safe."

"I know," he acknowledged calmly. "But it was pointless."

"Not the way I see it," Alice argued.

"I am capable of handling newborns," Jasper stated firmly, but still keeping his voice low. "And had anything happened to you… my safety wouldn't have mattered after that."

"Of-"

"No!" Jasper said, suddenly very intense. He grabbed Alice by the shoulders and was staring hard into her eyes. "Listen to me. We could have handled this together. I do not seek death. I will not willingly go to my death – unless it's to save you." He added the last with a sudden gentleness in his voice and one of his hands released the vice grip from Alice's shoulder so he could run the back of it along the side of her face. Then he became fervent again. "This," he swept his hand between them, "is as good as it gets. I couldn't ask for anything better. I couldn't dream of anything better." His face darkened slightly. "And there's nothing better to come. Not for me. So I'm not looking to die. All I ask is that you don't take this away from me again. I'm perhaps too much of a coward to face hell, but if you leave – if you get yourself killed – I wouldn't really ever be alive again." He bent down so he was at face level with Alice, both hands back on her shoulders. "Don't. Do that. Again!" His voice nearly broke with emotion. Everything he'd felt from the time Alice disappeared until finding her pinned to the wall of the silo, then holding her as he removed her from the dark, and avenging the wrong done, was in that one pleading statement.

Alice didn't need Jasper's empathic ability to know what he was feeling, because it was all that fear and love and despair that had driven her to do what she'd done in the first place. She reached up and brushed the hair away from his face as she leaned in to kiss him. "I'm sorry," she apologized, kissed him again, then wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. "I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice full of remorse. "I didn't mean to hurt you. And I never meant for you think that I didn't trust you. I just needed to know you were safe."

Hugging her tightly and lifting her off the ground, Jasper replied, "I know." He tucked his face into her neck and breathed deeply her scent. As he breathed in, his nose traced a line from Alice's collarbone to her ear.

Alice released her hold on his neck and her hands fisted in his hair. The buzz of the fights, both the physical battle with the other vampires and the emotional argument between the two of them, lingered and changed. The relief of holding each other, knowing they were both safe and whole, turned the fearful and angry tension into desire.

"Are you all right?" Jasper whispered in Alice's ear. He was concerned about the lingering effects of the fear she'd felt earlier.

Alice nodded. Jasper's breath at her ear and neck was an intimate caress that sent a shiver through her body. He nipped gently at her ear and she pulled back his head to claim his mouth with her own. She hadn't even noticed they were moving until she felt the tree behind her. Had Jasper's arm not been holding her back and head, she would have been pressed into the tree, not that it bothered her. Jasper moved his lips away from hers, only to have them land on her neck, at the ear, and trace a line back down to the collar of her shirt. His right hand was at her lower back and he pulled their bodies closer together. His left hand, no longer supporting her head, slid down her back, his fingers grazing her skin through the hole in her shirt created by the metal rod. The skin-to-skin contact shot a jolt of electricity through Alice and she arched her back, pressing herself further into him.

"Jasper." Alice's voice was breathy as she tried to get his attention.

He set her feet on the ground, then knelt. "Hmm?" he intoned as his face slid down Alice's body, never making contact, but so close she could feel his heat and breath. Then he placed a kiss on her stomach, right where the hole in the front of her shirt was, his hands sliding from her back and coming to rest on either side of her waist.

"Jasper," Alice said a little more insistently, though at the moment her eyes were closed and her breathing was coming heavy and fast.

When he didn't respond right away, she pulled back on his head again, her hands still fisted in his hair. He looked up at her and was grinning mischievously. His smile was a combination of rapture and confidence, but his eyes – those burned with passion and desire – and Alice almost forgot what she wanted to say.

"Wait," she whispered. She let go of his hair with one hand and cupped his chin, pulling him back up to standing.

Jasper's grin widened and his hand slid back to her back, pulling her close again. He kissed her again, deeply, and hoisted her up so they were at the same height. Without thinking, Alice wrapped her legs around his waist, in encouragement of his advances.

When his lips moved again to tour her neck, Alice regained some semblance of coherency. "Wait," she tried again. "W-" she started, but had to swallow as she fought a groan that wanted to escape. "Wedding," she finally managed.

The effect was instantaneous. Jasper didn't let go, but he pulled his head back so he could look Alice in the eye. What he saw there, she wasn't sure, but his head dipped minutely, as if he was nodding to himself. He kissed her again, but it was gentle and chaste. Still full of love, but the passionate energy was either gone, or he was very much controlling his desires.

"You're right," he said quietly. "I'm sorry."

He started to let her go, but Alice held fast her grip. "Tomorrow."

He looked at her questioningly. "What?"

"Let's get married… tomorrow," Alice clarified.

Jasper broke into another grin. "Really?"

Alice felt a moment's guilt. Had she known how happy he would have been to be married right away, she would have suggested getting married sooner. "Really," she answered. "I don't know that I'd have the will to stop you a second time."

The coy grin from earlier mixed with the boyish one he was wearing. "Really?" he asked again, and leaned forward to place another line of kisses on her neck.

"Jasper," Alice said again, already feeling the build of excitement and sheer want.

"Yes?" Jasper asked, lost for a moment by what he was doing. But then he remembered they were getting married – tomorrow! "Yes," he stated and pulled away again. "Wait. Until tomorrow." He set Alice down and once her feet were firmly planted on the ground, they gazed at each other, both grinning with school-boyish excitement and slight chagrin.

Jasper took Alice's hand in his. "So… Where to?"

"Virginia," Alice said. "We'll be okay," she said, tilting her head slightly. "It's raining over most of the east coast tomorrow." She glanced up at the sky and she could, indeed, make out cloud cover rolling in from the north.

They made it to Virginia just before sunrise and had to wait until things began to open for business. Their first stop was at a Circuit Courthouse to obtain a marriage license. Then Alice went shopping. She found a simple floor-length white dress that poofed out some at the waist. The shoulder straps were off the shoulder, and it had a small wrap that clasped in front. She decided to forego the veil, but picked up white satin shoes and a handbag. While Alice was shopping, Jasper rented a car and they met at around noon, just as the rain was starting. The car was mostly for appearance sake. The humans would probably think it odd if the married couple walked away from the ceremony in their wedding clothes.

Once the two met up, Alice took Jasper on a shopping trip and, much to his relief, quickly found a suit for him. Then they headed off to the Blue Ridge Chapel. There was a small white gazebo there in which Alice wanted to get married. The rain was light and there was no wind, so they could stand under the gazebo and not get wet. Gazebos always reminded Alice of the south and, despite both she and Jasper finding much happier days together in the north, they were both southerners at heart.

As Alice most likely foresaw, the timing couldn't have been more perfect. The usually-booked chapel had had a cancellation, leaving an opening for the couple. They changed quickly at the church and the elopement ceremony was performed that afternoon.

They returned the rental car, changed back into their clothes from the day before, and returned to the cabin in the Adirondacks in which they'd been staying at before the fight, which seemed so much longer ago than just the previous night.

Jasper looked around the cabin. "Are you sure you want to stay here tonight?"

Alice grinned mischievously. "I don't really want to pay for damages to hotel property. Here we can do what we want."

"Oh," Jasper replied, and Alice was sure, had he been capable, that he would have blushed. She started to giggle, but was cut off as Jasper crossed the room at top speed and swept her into his arms.

- - - - -

They spent much of the next year in New York. Jasper had come to love the Adirondacks and Alice loved the quaintness of Crown Point, plus it wasn't far from New York City. Jasper eventually convinced Alice to submit some of her designs to the boutique of which she was so fond. The store owner, Gladys, who had gotten used to the young woman's presence and even developed a fondness for her, gave her designs a shot. It turned out that her styles were quite popular with the big-city types that wondered through Crown Point on vacation. Gladys said she still had some fashion contacts in New York, from which her most up-to-date styles came. She sent a few of Alice's most popular designs to a friend of hers, who loved them. Alice hired a lawyer and worked out a contract that allowed her to stay low profile, but still reap the rewards of her labor.

They eventually decided to buy the cabin in which they'd honeymooned, and Jasper spent much of his time renovating the building. He was half-way through putting a new window in the loft when he felt a shift in Alice's emotions. There was no fear, but some uncertainty had crept in and unsettled her contentment.

"Alice?" Jasper called. He lowered the window to the floor and turned, hearing her approach from the stairs.

"Jazz," Alice began, her eyes still unfocused on the world around her. "We're going to have company."

Jasper frowned. They'd managed to avoid other vampires, except Ciaran's coven, for over a year. He wondered whose path they would cross now. "Who?"

Alice focused on Jasper. "Peter and Charlotte."

Jasper didn't react right away, not that Alice could see. He was surprised to find himself looking forward to seeing them, but he wondered how they would react to Alice and, more importantly, their odd diet. "When?" he asked neutrally.

"Two days."

Jasper nodded. "Okay." There was no real need for concern, so he returned to putting the window in the frame. He must have been more distracted than he thought, because he was startled by Alice's hand on his arm.

"Jazz?" Alice asked gently. "Are you going to be okay?"

Jasper smiled down at her and wrapped his arm comfortingly around her waist. "You tell me, little seer."

Her eyes unfocused as she took his words literally and began to search the future. "Yes," she said, a little uncertainly at first. But she continued with more confidence. "Yes," she said again. "And, I like them, though they think we're crazy." There was another pause and Jasper felt a sudden rush of joy. "Oh!" Alice said, as a smile broke across her face.

"What?" Jasper asked.

"What?" Alice echoed, as she finally looked into Jasper's eyes. "Oh… nothing," she answered and began to walk away.

Jasper tightened his hold at her waist and pulled her to him. "What did you see?" He tried to be annoyed that she was keeping something from him, but her joy was too strong in this close proximity and he could only smile at her.

"Nothing. You'll find out," she teased.

Jasper kissed her playfully. "'Nothing,' huh?" He kissed her again, then went for her neck, knowing how it drove her crazy.

"Right," Alice said, running her hands through Jasper's hair. "Nothing," she breathed out before lifting his head to kiss him fully on the lips. And soon both the vision and the window were temporarily forgotten.

Two days later, Jasper stood outside the cabin, awaiting his friends' arrival. They approached from the west, making what Jasper thought was an exorbitant amount of noise for vampires. Peter stepped forward first, and Jasper could feel his hesitancy. It seemed like a lifetime ago, and in a way it was, but the last time Peter and Charlotte had seen him, he was edgy, distant, and depressed. It was no wonder they were taking great care in approaching him.

Jasper smiled in greeting. "Peter," he greeted and extended his hand. Then he inclined his head toward Charlotte. "Charlotte." Alice stepped out the front door of the cabin at this time, and the two platinum blonde vampires turned to look at her. Jasper held out his hand to her. "This is Alice - my wife."

Jasper couldn't contain the chuckle that escaped at their obvious surprise in reaction to these words.

"Wife?" Peter asked, and though he was surprised, he was also pleased. Even a non-empath could see that Jasper was actually happy and at ease.

Jasper nodded.

"Jasper," Charlotte started hesitantly. "What… Excuse me, I don't mean to be rude. But what's wrong with your eyes?"

Jasper and Alice looked at each other. A silent communication passed between them and Alice said, "Why don't you come inside? We will explain there."

Peter and Charlotte exchanged their own glance and decided to follow the other two.

Once inside, Jasper wasn't sure how to explain the change. "We… we don't…"

"We feed on animals," Alice provided. "Instead of people."

Peter looked horror-struck and Charlotte gasped in surprise. Jasper could sense Alice's amusement at the reaction, though, to her credit, she kept from laughing. Jasper had expected the reaction, but at feeling Alice's emotions, he could see how it would seem funny. Was it really so shocking to drink the blood of animals instead of humans?

"You can do that?" Charlotte asked, rather naively, as she sank onto one of the few chairs in the cabin.

Alice nodded. "I've been doing it for years. Jasper – since we met."

Peter stood protectively over Charlotte, his eyes remaining locked with Jasper's as if he expected him to suddenly go crazy and attack.

Jasper sighed and pushed out a wave of calm. Alice glanced questioningly in his direction, but he didn't break eye contact with Peter either. "We're fine. Honestly. And it doesn't have the same… side effects… that feeding on humans does for me."

"But you're still… healthy?" Peter asked skeptically.

Jasper shrugged. "Slightly weaker, I think. Maybe a little slower." Jasper did look over at Alice this time, her surprise hitting him much harder this time. He wondered if she'd never noticed the difference. But then again, why would she? Her life had never depended on her being at the top of her game. Always. He saw that she was frowning, and he offered her a comforting smile. He didn't mind, really. The trade-off was so much greater.

"I've never understood you, Jasper," Charlotte said. "Why…? Oh well. It's your choice."

"Thank you," Jasper said, with a slight bow, "for respecting that choice."

Charlotte cleared her throat. Obviously no respect was intended – at least not for the decision. Peter squeezed her shoulder to keep her quiet. "You look… happy," Peter said with a genuine smile.

Jasper returned the smile. "I am."

Peter shook his head in disbelief. "Amazing." He turned to look at Alice, really taking her in this time. "You've been a good influence on him."

Alice laughed. She had been standing next to Jasper and she moved closer, wrapping her arm around his waist. His arm slid naturally around her small back. "I wish I could take all the credit."

"Oh, honey," Charlotte said. "I'm sure the credit is yours." Her voice was friendly and warm and Alice beamed at her. Jasper didn't think Alice could sense the duplicity of her words, so he worked hard to keep his features and body relaxed, not wanting to cause Alice any anxiety, but he fixed Charlotte with a warning stare. Had he not known Charlotte, he would have been angry. But he knew she was concerned about his welfare. She still believed that she and Peter owed him their lives and, as such, tried to look out for his.

"So where are you heading?" he asked conversationally.

"We were heading west for the winter. Have you been yet?" Peter asked. Jasper only shook his head.

"Ah," Charlotte smiled. "The winters are fabulous. And it's still so wide open there."

Peter nodded. "Makes for some convenient hunting, despite the lack of large cities."

"You should come," Charlotte offered.

"I don't think that would work well," Jasper said.

"No," Charlotte said, her voice carrying genuine sadness. "Probably not."

"You're welcome to stay a few days before moving on," Alice offered.

Peter glanced around the cabin. "Won't someone be returning to this cabin soon?"

"Oh no," Alice assured him. "We own it," she said with a smile, taking obvious delight in the "we."

Jasper smirked at her briefly before turning his attention back to the guests. They were surprised again by the lifestyle differences between them.

"Convenient," Charlotte stated, and this time she meant it.

"You're welcome to use it whenever we're not around," Alice offered. "We just ask that you not hunt within about a fifty mile radius."

Charlotte's eyebrows shot up toward her hairline. She shook her head. "Strange girl, bless her."

Jasper and Peter both chuckled at this. Charlotte looked up at Peter, frowning. Peter explained. "Well, they can't very well stay here without suspicion if authorities find too many bodies in the area when we come around."

"Mmm. I guess not. Still. It seems like an awful lot of work. Don't the cravings get to you?" Charlotte asked curiously.

"We hunt frequently – nearly every night," Alice explained. "That helps."

Jasper remained silent on the issue. It did help to be full, but not as much as he would have thought. He decided to steer the conversation elsewhere. "Have you heard any news?"

Peter's face became serious. He didn't have to ask to know to what Jasper was referring. "No," Peter said with a sigh. "Same, last I heard. But we don't venture too far south."

Alice felt the change in atmosphere, and it was her turn to shift the conversation. "Have you met many others in your travels?"

This started a conversation about all the places Peter and Charlotte had traveled. It was much more extensive than Alice and Jasper, as they had gone all the way to the west coast as well as up into Canada. They mentioned other vampires they'd crossed paths with, as well as a few of their adventures.

Peter and Charlotte opted to stay for two days before moving on. None of the four hunted during that time. Peter and Charlotte didn't want to travel to hunt and Jasper and Alice didn't want to offend their guests with their diet. Over the course of the two days, the other couple continued to question the sanity of their decision, but otherwise were genuinely happy for Jasper and grew to be very fond of Alice. She was so gregarious, it was hard not to like her. Peter helped Jasper a bit with the cabin and Alice introduced Charlotte to shopping. It was a quick trip due to the fact that Charlotte wasn't used to being around so many people. Jasper hadn't thought it was a good idea at first, but Charlotte insisted she'd had a delightful time and had only seriously considered feeding on two people. She stated this with a chuckle and shake of her head.

The first night after Peter and Charlotte left, Jasper and Alice took full advantage of having the cabin to themselves again. As they lay on the sheepskin throw in front of the fireplace, Alice asked, "So? How was it?"

Jasper laughed throatily. He lifted Alice's chin to tilt her face toward his and kissed her. "Wonderful. As always."

Alice laughed as well and wriggled closer to Jasper, so she was half on top of him and half at his side. "Thank you. But that's not to what I was referring."

"Oh?" Jasper asked, his hand absently running up and down her arm and back.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Having Peter and Charlotte here."

"Mm," Jasper intoned.

Alice propped her head up on her hand, which was resting on Jasper's chest. She waited.

"It was fine," he said, finally, knowing she was waiting for more of a response than he'd given. "I was actually thinking about that."

"Yes?" she asked innocently, but Jasper could feel her building excitement.

He rolled his eyes this time, then tapped her nose with his free hand. "You already know what I'm going to say, don't you."

Alice half shrugged, half nodded, but didn't say anything.

"We can leave tomorrow."

Alice squealed in delight and launched herself at Jasper's lips. "Thank you!"

"Mm," he said, sounding annoyed, but enjoying her happiness. "I just hope you're prepared."

This stopped her short. "For what?"

"I know how things are going to turn out. You've told me," he teased, then grew serious. "But that first meeting…" Jasper shrugged and looked up at the ceiling.

"It will be fine," Alice assured him. She had seen various versions of their first meeting with the Cullens. And she knew that, in each one, they had been initially terrified of Jasper. "Jazz," she said, taking his chin and pulling it so he would look at her. "It will be fine. They'll love you."

- - - - -

A/N – Thanks again to all who have reviewed and added this story to your alerts and favorites. Thank you to reader13lovesbooks, monko25, J., SWaddict1986, and Nenifer121. Thanks also, as always, to my wonderful beta/editor – mom. :D


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight – First Impressions… Home at Last

Redlining the vehicle the whole way, it took Alice and Jasper just over an hour to drive from the Adirondacks to Hanover, New Hampshire, where the Cullens were staying. It was a small college town, surrounded by plenty of forest, and Alice drove to the out-of-the-way, private drive without erring.

It had taken them much less time to get there than Jasper was ready for, and he was growing more nervous by the minute. Logically, he shouldn't have. He trusted Alice's visions and knew they would all end up one big happy family, but it was so contrary to what he'd been taught - what he'd experienced - that he couldn't stop himself.

Once they hit the private drive, there was no waiting. The Cullens would surely have heard their approach.

"Edward and Emmett are away for the weekend – hunting," Alice said with a smile. Jasper just nodded. She laughed lightly and touched the side of his face. "Relax."

The house was a large, two-story, brick Tudor. It was larger, and certainly nicer, than any house in which Jasper had previously lived, and he couldn't help but be both impressed and intimidated. Wealth was synonymous with power and influence, and Jasper had seldom seen either used kindly.

As they approached the front of the house, they could see Carlisle, Esme, and Rosalie standing on the front stoop – Carlisle a few feet ahead. Jasper could feel the nervousness radiating off each of them. They would have realized by now that no heartbeats accompanied the sound of the approaching car. When they were close enough that they could clearly be seen through the windshield, Jasper felt the tension sky rocket. He knew immediately they assumed the worst, having gotten a good look at his scarred appearance.

Esme stepped closer to Carlisle, whether in response to her own fear or out of protectiveness for her mate, Jasper wasn't sure. Carlisle reached back with his hand to grasp hers, though, to his credit, that was his only outward sign of fear or concern. Rosalie, on the other hand, dropped into a defensive stance and Jasper could hear her hiss over the car's engine. Jasper, in turn, reacted out of habit and blanketed everyone in calm. It must have been at least somewhat effective because Rosalie stood upright again.

Jasper reached for Alice's hand. He was amazed that she was completely nonplussed by the obvious signs of fear and danger, empathy aside. In fact, she was practically bursting with excitement. She smiled at him as she cut the engine, then stepped out of the car. Jasper moved much more slowly, partly out of respect for the Cullens – not wanting to move too quickly and be seen as a threat.

Once out of the vehicle, Jasper's eyes locked with Carlisle's, who was obviously measuring him up. Alice waited for Jasper at the front of the car, then the two moved closer to the Cullens. Before Jasper knew what was happening, Alice suddenly swept past him.

"Alice," he whispered urgently, but by the time he reached out his hand to grab her, she had already leapt the five stairs to the stoop and had her small arms wrapped solidly around a very surprised Carlisle.

Carlisle froze, his arms out to the side as if he'd started to hug her, but never finished.

"Hello, Carlisle," Alice said, her voice full of happiness, relief, and a bit of awe. She quickly released Carlisle and spun around him to wrap Esme in an equally loving embrace. "Mmm, Esme." Alice was grinning from ear to ear.

The Cullens had not attacked Alice despite her forwardness, and Jasper relaxed enough that his arm fell back to his side. He could easily pick up the confusion from the others, but there was a hint of amusement coming from Carlisle. The women seemed too shocked to know how to feel about this strange little creature.

After releasing Esme, Alice leapt over to Rosalie. She started to reach toward her, to pull her into a hug as well, but something on Rosalie's face warned her not to. "Rosalie," Alice said, still smiling broadly and not at all put off by Rose's wariness. "You're even more beautiful in person." Alice reached out and touched a lock of Rosalie's hair that had fallen over her shoulder. "I can't wait to do your hair. I can't do anything with mine," Alice pulled on one of her short locks, emphasizing her point. Then she looped her arm through Rose's and led her through the door, ignoring the looks she was garnering.

Rose looked bewildered and glanced at Carlisle, as if to ask whether it was safe to go with the crazy lady. Carlisle shrugged and nodded. Jasper was even sure he'd heard Carlisle chuckle.

Once Rose and Alice were through the front door, Carlisle turned his attention back to Jasper.

"Sorry about that," Jasper said shyly. "She's just very excited."

"Indeed," Carlisle replied. He still wasn't sure what to make of the man standing before him and Jasper could feel his uncertainty, but then he extended his hand in greeting. "I'm Carlisle Cullen," he said, despite the obviousness of the statement. But it was a formal welcome and Jasper accepted, shaking the older vampire's hand.

"This," Carlisle turned his body to allow Esme to step forward, "is Esme Cullen – my wife." Jasper nodded and shook her hand as well. Carlisle then gestured toward the door. "And that was Rosalie. But… you seem to already know that."

"I'm Jasper Whitlock," Jasper replied, finishing the formal introductions before touching on Carlisle's last comment. He nodded toward the door. "And that was my wife, Alice," he grinned and the tenderness of his feelings for her shone clearly in his eyes.

"Won't you come in?" Carlisle asked.

"Thank you," Jasper replied and followed Carlisle and Esme into the house. The front door opened into a long wood-paneled hall, broken only by a pocket door on either side. The doors were open, and Jasper could clearly see a large library on the left, with a fireplace, reading chairs, a chaise, and grand piano. On the right was a formal living room, and it was into this room that Carlisle led Jasper.

The house was beautifully decorated with dark wood and solid-looking furniture, much of it antique. There were several oil paintings adorning the walls, at least one Jasper was pretty sure he'd seen a printed copy of in some book he'd read in the past. "You have a lovely home, ma'am." Jasper directed his compliment toward Esme.

"Thank you," she said with a smile, and Jasper could feel the pride and pleasure radiating from her. He smiled back.

When he turned his attention back to Carlisle, he noticed Carlisle was watching him closely.

"It's not often," Carlisle said, "that we meet others with the same… diet."

"No, I wouldn't think so," Jasper said. He was still debating how to explain everything and how much to mention. He decided that telling them everything was probably best. They would find out eventually, especially when Edward arrived. Without thinking, Jasper glanced around and asked out of curiosity, "Where are Edward and Emmett?"

Carlisle's eyebrows shot up in surprise. There was some suspicion in his emotions as he glanced at his wife. She was just as confused, and worried, probably wondering how this couple knew so much about them.

"I'm sorry," Jasper said. "Perhaps I should explain. Alice…" He knew they would be family, but his protective instincts made it very hard for him to reveal everything so quickly to people who were still strangers to him, despite his wife's best efforts to familiarize him with them. "Alice can see the future."

"Really?" Carlisle asked, genuine curiosity pushing its way to the fore of his emotions. "What can she see?"

Jasper smiled in recollection of his first conversation with Alice about this very topic. It sounded similar, too. "She can see almost anything depending on imminence and decisions that are made. She sees outcomes."

"So… It's based on statistical probability," Carlisle asked, trying to understand what Jasper meant.

"Mm… yes and no. If a person believes he has two paths to take, she can see the outcome of both choices. But once the decision is made, she can only see that future, not any other."

"And… if there are more than two choices, she can't see the outcome of those because the individual isn't considering those. And once a decision has been made, the future set in motion so to speak, the other options are wiped away."

"Yes. Unless or until that person changes his mind."

"Intriguing." Carlisle's brow creased in concentration. "And, I take it, she saw us."

"Yes," Jasper replied.

"To what end?" Carlisle asked.

Jasper shifted uncomfortably. "She saw us… becoming part of your family."

Carlisle's eyebrows raised again and he looked over at Esme. As if on cue, they could hear Alice and Rosalie laughing together and this, more than anything, affected Esme. She smiled, first at Carlisle, then at Jasper.

"You're welcome to stay. If you bring in your things, we'll find a room for you," Esme offered.

"No need," Alice skipped into the room. Rosalie, grinning, walked in behind her. "I've already picked one."

"Alice," Jasper warned. He could sense her scheming.

Alice kissed Jasper's cheek innocently. "Bring our things in, please. Rose and I will be… redecorating." She smirked at Rose, who hadn't stopped smiling, and the two left the room again.

"Oh dear," Esme muttered. She followed the girls to see what they were up to, while Carlisle went with Jasper to the car to get their belongings.

"Have you and Alice always been together?" he asked.

"You mean did I turn her or did she turn me?" Jasper clarified, and Carlisle nodded. "No."

"How did you meet, then?"

"We met in a diner in Philadelphia. I was… wandering and she… She was waiting for me." Jasper smiled his shy smile.

Carlisle smiled in response. It was easy to see Jasper's love for Alice in the way he talked about her and how his face softened when he thought of her. "Why were you alone?"

A frown flickered across Jasper's face as he thought of those days. It seemed his life history had become divided. There was his life before Alice, and his life after Alice. When he thought of the former, he couldn't help but feel pain. When he thought of the latter, he couldn't help but smile. "I had… left my former coven and was wandering."

Carlisle was not insensitive to the emotions that played across Jasper's face. He knew this was a topic that was causing the younger vampire discomfort, but there were things he had to know if they were going to stay. It would all come to light eventually, but he'd rather Jasper share the information voluntarily than have Edward learn it by accident. "Why did you leave?" he asked gently.

Jasper leaned against the trunk of the car and stared at the ground, trying to find words and the calm to say them evenly. "I couldn't take that life any more."

"Feeding on humans?" Carlisle asked.

Jasper tilted his head to the side – a half nod, half shake. "Yes and no. I… There was…" Jasper took a deep breath, still deciding how much he wanted to share. "I'm from the south."

He paused and before he could say more, Carlisle placed a hand on his shoulder. "That's a hard way to start this life."

It was Jasper's turn to be surprised. Most vampires feared him, especially when they knew his history. All he felt from Carlisle was pity and compassion. The pity he didn't want, but the compassion was almost overwhelming. Jasper stood and moved away from Carlisle. He covered his 'escape' by opening the trunk. He didn't want to offend Carlisle, but he had to break the physical contact.

"Mm," Jasper intoned, agreeing with Carlisle's assessment. "But that wasn't really all of it. If I hadn't… I'm… an empath. If I wasn't, I'd probably still be there, to be honest. But…" Jasper shook his head. How do you explain to someone who's never been an empath what it feels like to feel everything. Again Jasper was surprised to feel the compassion from the other man.

"My son, Edward… well, you probably already know, but he can read minds," Carlisle said kindly. Jasper did know, but had forgotten. He suddenly realized Carlisle might actually have some clue what life was like for him – not from first hand experience, but because of his son. "It's not something he can control. He can't block out other people's thoughts entirely, though he has learned to… tune them out, like voices in a crowded room. It's quite useful sometimes. It's helped us on more than one occasion. But it's also a burden for him. He is privy to thoughts and information that he would never want to know. He's seen things through the eyes of others that no one should have to witness." Carlisle snorted sardonically. "Vampires aren't the only monsters out there."

Jasper nodded his understanding. He didn't envy Edward's gift at all. In some ways, it was better than his own; in others, far worse.

"So you left the south," Carlisle brought the conversation back on track. "But you still had to feed on humans."

Jasper nodded. "Yes. And then I met Alice."

Carlisle could see, instantly, his entire demeanor change.

"She was joy and light… And to make things even better, she told me that I didn't have to feed on humans anymore… She's been a godsend."

"And she was alone?" Carlisle asked.

"Yes," Jasper nodded. "She's pretty much always been alone."

"Why? What happened to her sire?"

"She doesn't know. She doesn't remember him – or anything before awakening."

Carlisle stared in shock at Jasper. What maniac would sire a vampire and then leave the newborn defenseless and volatile? And how had she not gone insane from uncontrolled bloodlust nor drawn the attention of the Volturi? "How did she survive?"

"Her visions. She saw me and you – all of you. That gave her focus and guidance. And hope."

Carlisle shook his head in wonder. "She is a remarkable creature."

Jasper smiled. "She truly is."

- - - - -

Over the next two days, Alice and Jasper became well acquainted with the new house, the surrounding area, and the family. Carlisle was genuinely caring and compassionate. Jasper recalled Alice's visions that indicated his character, but to be on the receiving end of the compassion, to feel how strong it was even toward others, was nothing like what he'd expected. Jasper cared about the people he killed mostly because of how it affected him. Carlisle actually cared about people. He truly didn't see them as food, nor as the inevitable diet of their species. It was tempered with realism and the desire to protect his family, so Carlisle would never suddenly decide to play the part of a superhero to save them, but that was why being a doctor suited him so well. He did get the opportunity to save lives and his vampiric traits aided in that feat, so it was enough for him.

Esme was every bit a mother. Her love was unconditional and her concern for others, especially her family, allowed her to sacrifice without thought of the cost. She wanted her children to have the best of everything and be truly happy, and she was willing to give up whatever it took to make that happen. She formed quick attachments to both Alice and Jasper, probably because of their more colorful past. She was one of those women who believed if you simply loved enough, you could change a person. It was probably why she had stayed so long with her husband when she was human. Her love for her children was only outshone by her love and admiration for Carlisle.

Rosalie was a little harder to figure out. She was such a contrast to Carlisle and Esme in that almost everything she did was motivated by selfishness and vanity. All of her emotions had a sharp edge to them, no matter what it was. But Jasper soon learned that even her bonds were stronger than they first seemed. She so fiercely admired Carlisle (and hated being a vampire) that she took great pride in her "record" of never having fed on a human. She was grateful for the parents she had, recognizing that most vampires were nomads and had little by way of material things. She loved Edward like any sister loved her brother, which meant sometimes she hated him, but she never considered leaving the family. Her love for Emmett was the least constricted by self. Her initial attraction for him had been because of his resemblance to the baby she'd always wanted, but in carrying him all those miles while he bled, a bond had been forged between them and his was the love she'd protect the most fiercely. That was why, though she'd quickly accepted Alice, she still had a hard time accepting Jasper, as if on some intuitive level, she knew he'd be the one most likely to upset their way of life.

Jasper wondered about this, wondered if it was something she'd eventually get over. After all, Alice had always indicated they'd received total acceptance. But then he realized, Alice couldn't feel emotions or read minds, so she would not necessarily recognize what she didn't want to see; that it might not be so easy to just step into the family.

As the weekend came to a close, Carlisle offered to take Jasper hunting. He had to work Sunday night in the clinic and, while Jasper knew he wasn't truly concerned, Carlisle had stated he should probably hunt for safety's sake. While Carlisle and Jasper were hunting, the ladies went shopping in Hanover. Everyone was back home by mid-afternoon.

Alice and Rose were in Rosalie's room discussing fashion, hair-styles, and other things in which Jasper had no interest, so he turned his attention to the books in Carlisle's study. The volumes ranged from theology to philosophy to classic literature. There was a section on architecture, medical and scientific journals, mechanical engineering, and history, not to mention the shelf that contained books designed to teach various languages. Jasper was already fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and he knew enough French to get by. He pulled down the Latin volume and settled in.

Less than an hour later, Jasper felt an unexplained nudging of worry. There was a protective edge to it and he looked up, wondering from where it was coming. Carlisle and Esme were with Jasper in the library, both engrossed in their own activities. Jasper frowned slightly and rose, heading toward a window. Rosalie and Alice entered the library, having finished whatever they were doing, but Jasper kept his back to the room as he scanned the surrounding area – as much as he could see from this window.

Carlisle and Esme were amused about something, and he heard Carlisle say conversationally, "The boys should be back soon."

Ah. "They're here," Jasper said, half to himself. He was sure it was Edward and Emmett he was feeling. Edward would know that he and Alice were there, being able to hear their thoughts, which was why Edward was worried. Jasper stepped away from the window, not wanting Edward to physically see him while he was still a ways off, knowing that that would only heighten Edward's concern. He felt confusion and curiosity then and realized Edward was probably monitoring his thoughts closely to assess the threat level. _We're not here to hurt anyone_, Jasper assured Edward. The wariness remained, but the curiosity on Edward's part was growing.

Jasper turned his attention to the others in the room. Much to his discomfort, they were all watching him. "They'll be here soon," he said, hoping that their attention would shift to the incoming family members and off him.

Rosalie's attention turned immediately, and she sat still as a statue in anticipation. It sent tingles through Jasper which, while not entirely unpleasant, were uncomfortable, so he tried to focus an Alice. She was eagerly waiting to meet Edward and Emmett, and he could feel her excitement. She met his gaze, and they stood, staring at each other, Jasper absorbing her feelings and letting them sooth his nervousness. Emmett was laid back, easy going, and he knew acceptance would come easily from him. Of all the vampires in the family, the one he was most concerned with meeting was Edward. Edward could read minds, which meant he was the only one Jasper could not hide anything from. Alice had never made him feel ashamed of anything. She only accepted and loved him despite everything. He wasn't so sure he could escape this particular consequence of his past, his actions, and his thoughts with Edward. After all, there were things he really should feel shame about. If Alice only knew half the thoughts that went through his head as he wandered through town…

Jasper refocused on Alice's positive emotions and her excitement in preparation of meeting the remaining two Cullens.

Alice released a quick breath and nodded. Perfectly on cue, the front door of the house opened. "Hello!" came Emmett's booming voice, before either he or Edward were visible to those in the library. Edward must have told Emmett what Jasper had thought because there was no concern coming from him at all, simply curiosity.

Rose leapt off her seat and walked as quickly as was vampirically possible into the hall to meet Emmett.

"Guys," came Edward's annoyed voice, also still in the hall. "Please! We just got home."

Jasper had to agree. The spike in lust was intrusive, but he found he was fighting back the laughter. He couldn't help but be, sympathetically, amused by Edward's reaction. At the same time, the nervousness was back. Jasper felt that Edward's acceptance was imperative, at least for him.

Rose must have said or done something, because Emmett whispered, "But I want to meet them first." There was some noise from Rose, to which Emmett replied, "Just five minutes… Two! Two minutes."

Edward appeared in the door of the library, shaking his head in disgust. He barely stepped foot into the library when his arms were suddenly full of Alice.

"Edward!" Alice squealed.

Jasper hated when Alice launched herself at other vampires. It sent a shock of fear through him each time. Years of experience told him that was the fastest way to get yourself killed and he had yet to shake that instinct. But he also couldn't help a small smile at Alice's joy and excitement, and even Edward's confusion.

Edward was stunned silent for a moment, though he hugged her back, a crooked smile making its way onto his face. Then he looked at Jasper. He saw Edward tense, a fairly mild response to Jasper's appearance.

Jasper made his way to Edward and held out his hand. "Jasper." Nodding to his wife, he said, "Alice."

"As if he doesn't already know," Alice said teasingly. Then she added, "Emmett, don't make your wife wait. We'll be here later."

Edward rolled his eyes and tsked. "You really shouldn't encourage them."

Emmett laughed heartily in response to Alice and Edward. There was a playful growl and a squeal from Rose. Emmett's head appeared at the side of the doorframe, where he grinned heartily, taking in the appearance of the two newcomers, before he was pulled rapidly away. His hand waved briefly where his head had just been and then that too disappeared, followed by the sound of feet running up the stairs.

Edward closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "As if the trip home wasn't bad enough."

"At least this way, they'll get it out of their system," Carlisle laughed.

"Wow," Jasper said. _Are they like that often?_ he asked Edward.

"Yes," Edward said in an exasperated tone.

_How do you stand it?_

"I read. A lot," Edward said, only momentarily confused.

A repetitive banging started on one of the walls upstairs, just one of the many sounds emanating from the second story bedroom, and Esme looked up at the ceiling. "He also plays piano, too" she said, more than a hint of a request in her statement.

Edward didn't need to be asked. He moved quickly to the piano and began to play.

This was a very new experience for Jasper. Sure vampires had sex in Mexicali, but he'd always been able to escape. Right now, there was nowhere else to go, and he figured he couldn't run through the woods every time one of the two other couples got intimate.

"Tempting, though," Edward said quietly, intruding on his thoughts.

Jasper tried to focus on the music, but that barely blocked out the noises and did nothing to block out the feelings. He tried focusing on Alice, but that had a very different effect and he felt weird about it.

Edward cleared his throat. "So do you mind if I ask what's going on?" he asked over his shoulder as he continued to play. There was both annoyance and curiosity in Edward's tone.

"Edward," Esme chastised quietly.

"Jasper and Alice have come to live with us," Carlisle supplied.

Edward frowned. "Why? I mean… not to sound unwelcoming, but how did you find us?"

Jasper looked at Alice. He'd never understood why she'd had visions of him or the Cullens in the first place. No conscious decision had been made by any of them to get together. Alice was the only connection and she hadn't decided to find them until she'd seen them in a vision. It was the chicken and the egg conundrum, but with time and decisions.

Alice shrugged her shoulders. "I've seen you for a long time and saw that we would be family. Now we're here."

Edward turned from the piano, to face the room. "You have visions of the future," he said to Alice. "And you," he looked at Jasper, "can feel other people's emotions…" Edward squinted, having picked up on more. "You can control them, too."

Carlisle, who had been feigning disinterest until now, looked up from his book. This was the first he'd heard of this.

"Yes." Jasper glanced at Carlisle.

"When you first arrived," Carlisle said. "That calm. That was you?"

"Yes. I'm sorry," Jasper apologized. Many people didn't like when their emotions were altered against their will, even if it was to their benefit. "It was an automatic reaction; not an attempt to manipulate."

"I believe you," Carlisle assured him.

"Have you done it often?" Edward asked, then almost immediately tensed and hissed, startling both Carlisle and Esme.

It wasn't intentional, but Edward's question opened a floodgate of memories, and Jasper tried to stem the flow as soon as it started.

"Edward?" Esme asked concernedly.

"Sorry," Edward apologized, much to Jasper's surprise. "I just… wasn't prepared for that." He glanced at Esme, "Just memories."

Jasper was surprised by the lack of judgment from Edward.

"It would be somewhat… hypocritical of me to condemn you for anything," Edward stated and Jasper could feel the shame he thought he'd surely be experiencing himself, burn within Edward, but he didn't ask for an explanation. Edward sighed. "I'll tell you about it one day."

Alice was watching the exchange between Edward and Jasper, her eyes moving from one to the other like a spectator at a tennis match. All the while, her smile was widening. She had, in all honesty, been somewhat concerned about Edward's initial reaction to Jasper, mostly because he was the brother she would end up being closest too, and she needed her mate and her brother to get along. Emmett, she knew, would not be a problem, but Edward was always more… complicated.

Both Jasper and Edward looked at her at the same time, Jasper drawn by her joy, Edward drawn by both her and Jasper's thoughts.

"A telepath, an empath, and a seer," Carlisle said. He turned to Esme. "Things could get interesting." Laughter permeated the study.

Twenty minutes later, Emmett and Rose entered the library, where Emmett was formerly introduced to Jasper and Alice. Emmett openly appraised Jasper, though Jasper didn't feel any hostility from him.

"You'd be surprised," Edward said, and Jasper had no idea what he meant.

Emmett raised an eyebrow and glanced at Edward, who just chuckled and shook his head. "Ask him."

Emmett turned back to Jasper. "Do you wrestle?"

Rose groaned, but Jasper could feel her pride. Esme was concerned; Carlisle more so.

"Emmett," Carlisle warned. "You really don't know what you're asking."

Far from dissuading Emmett, this only increased his excitement and he re-appraised Jasper. "I… no, not really," Jasper frowned. He'd never fought someone without the intent to kill him, and he didn't think that would be the best way to ingratiate himself with the family.

Emmett seemed confused by his statement, probably because of the warning from Carlisle and Edward's initial response to his thoughts. "You don't know how or… you're afraid of losing?"

Edward coughed, which Jasper was really sure was a cover for a laugh. Jasper tilted his head to the side, trying to determine if Emmett was insane or just stupid, unless he was really as good at fighting as he seemed to think he was. Emmett was certainly large and imposing, but Jasper knew that meant he'd be slower and he certainly didn't have the years of training Jasper had. "No," Jasper said slowly. "I'm not afraid."

"Emmett," Carlisle warned again.

"Come on," Emmett said. "Edward cheats…"

"I do not cheat! I can't help if you practically shout all your moves at me before you make them," Edward snapped at Emmett.

Emmett continued, nonplussed. "Edward cheats," he repeated, "And Carlisle's too 'proper' to wrestle. It's just for fun." He added the last statement which, for the most part, was true. But there was a definite challenge in his tone as well.

"I've never wrestled 'for fun,'" Jasper stated. Instead of serving as a warning, Emmett's confidence only expanded.

Grinning broadly now, Emmett said, "Well then, I can teach you."

Jasper frowned, but a smirk was fighting its way onto his face. "You… you really want to fight me?"

"Yes!" Emmett said, as excited as if Jasper had officially accepted the challenge.

Jasper shrugged, "Okay."

Emmett let out a whoop and practically tore the front door off the hinges in his haste to get outside.

"Take it easy on him," Esme requested, placing a light hand on his shoulder.

Edward only laughed. "No, no. This serves him right. This I've gotta see."

Carlisle was still mildly concerned, but he was more curious now, and Jasper wondered at the change in mood. Was he really wondering who would win, or was there something else behind the curiosity? Jasper, himself, was wondering if he would be able to stay focused enough to keep things friendly.

"You'll be fine," Edward said quietly, as he followed Emmett out the door.

Jasper looked to Alice for reassurance. It was an unspoken trust he had in her. If she had seen him seriously hurting Emmett, he was sure she'd tell him. She only glanced up at him and winked. Then she leaned closer and said, "You'll have to do some smoothing over with Rose when this is done."

Jasper glanced at Rosalie. She was still confident of her man, but she was mildly nervous, too, having heard just a little more of Jasper's past then Emmett had been privy to.

The match started slowly, Emmett talking trash the whole time, Jasper getting a feel for his fighting style and ability. He was right; Emmett was slower. But if he got caught by one of Emmett's punches, he'd be hurting. He needed to be quicker. Once the actual fight got under way, Jasper won quickly, despite Emmett breaking free of two holds.

Emmett, true to form, was thrilled, even in defeat. He saw Jasper as a new and exciting challenge, promising that one day he'd beat him. It was Rose who took the defeat the hardest; her pride hurt. But Emmett's indomitable spirit kept her from getting too angry. Still, she was quiet the rest of the night, sending occasional glares Jasper's way, until he'd had enough and calmed her.

"I want to see who'd win between Edward and Jasper," Emmett announced in the morning hours.

"Another night," Edward said, placatingly. "I'm heading upstairs." He was almost to the library door, when he turned suddenly and looked at Rosalie and then Alice. "What?!" They both looked at him innocently but neither spoke. Alice started humming a song, and Rose turned her attention to Emmett. Whatever thoughts she started having, Edward winced and hurried away.

"Jazz," Alice said quietly. She stood and nodded her head in the direction of the door. "Let's go."

Jasper wondered why she was being quiet, but he took her hand and followed her up the stairs. Jasper glanced at Alice when he realized that they were "following" Edward to _their _room.

Edward entered what used to be his room and found all of his belongings had been removed. He turned angrily to the couple behind him, but before he could say anything, Alice held up her hand.

"Oh please," she said with a roll of her eyes. "What do you need a view for? You read and play music and have no need of this magnificent view."

"And you do?" Edward countered.

"Yes," Alice said smiling. "It's very romantic."

"You know, I already have one annoying 'little sister.'"

"Ass," Rosalie's voice flitted up the stairs, followed by Emmett's laughter.

Alice stuck her tongue out at Edward. "Think of me as the older sister who gets to push you around."

"But you're not older!" Edward said in exasperation.

The two were silent for a minute, staring at each other. Jasper wasn't sure what, exactly, was going on except that Alice was feeling more triumphant and Edward more annoyed until, suddenly, they both burst out laughing.

"You're such a freak," Edward said, and Jasper would have attacked him for that comment except that he felt the love behind it and no annoyance or hurt coming from Alice, and he could only marvel instead. "Fine. Take the room," Edward said, and this time all the annoyance was in play. "Where are my things?" There was silence a moment, then "The garage?!"

The large three car garage was detached and stood about a hundred yards to the back left of the house. "It gives you a little more privacy," Alice explained.

"That's true."

"Thank you," Alice grinned and hugged Edward. "There's going to be a lovely sunrise this morning and I'd like to take advantage of it," she grinned wickedly.

"I am so out of here," Edward said and literally fled, being chased by Alice's laughter as he went.

Emmett laughed as well, and said, "I'm gonna like having you all around."

Alice smiled at Jasper. "We're home."

It was two simple words, words that she had even uttered in the past. But this time, there was so much more behind them. He had never felt like he was missing anything when it was just the two of them. He had been perfectly content, even happy. He still didn't think he was missing something. He and Alice, so long as they were together, would be happy. But these people, this family, touched him in ways he hadn't been reached before – at least not since his human years. He felt part of something bigger than himself again, and it wasn't steeped in blood and death and power. He was surrounded by love and acceptance, not based on performance or some expectation, but simply in being. Yes, they were home. And as long as they were together, they would be home – no matter where they were.

- - - - -

A/N – Well, there you have it folks. That's the end. Thanks for joining me for the adventure and I hope y'all enjoyed the ride. Thanks to those who added this story to alerts and favorites. Thank you immensely to those who took the time to write reviews and let me know what you thought. I appreciate all the feed back. Thank you reader13lovesbooks, MissLoonyLovegood (welcome), SWaddict1986, J., monko25, and Nenifer121. Thank you also to my ever faithful editor – Mom. Love.


End file.
